Can our offense be better than last years?

[Interception]

If one of the rookie receivers can continue to flash throughout the season, we might finally have a deep threat. If amendola stays healthy, even he is can go deep much more effectively than Welker did.
With a healthy gronkowski, a rookie deep threat, and a healthy amendola, would the void left by Hernandez and Welker really be that large?
Or could the deep threat push defenses back, opening up room for Ridley and Amendola?
What are the chances we have a top 5 offense and a top 10 defense?

 

[fgssand]

If one of the rookie receivers can continue to flash throughout the season, we might finally have a deep threat. If amendola stays healthy, even he is can go deep much more effectively than Welker did.
With a healthy gronkowski, a rookie deep threat, and a healthy amendola, would the void left by Hernandez and Welker really be that large?
Or could the deep threat push defenses back, opening up room for Ridley and Amendola?
What are the chances we have a top 5 offense and a top 10 defense?

O line is the key, let the returning starters stay healthy and they protect the franchise as well as open up running game. I believe we have the makings of something very special on offense once again this year.

I have been to 4 practices and have come away very impressed each time with the three rookie wr's and DA. Each rookie brings a different skill set and as long as they can figure out where to go and when to look, I think WR position becomes a strength of the team. DA is all that you have heard so far, bigger, faster, stronger than old #83(I didn't say better, but close and at least maybe).

Running game looks absolutely stacked and this Sudfeld kid at TE is showing a lot of promise.

Reality says getting really excited over four rookie skill players is unheard of, but that is exactly what's going on, at least at this early stage of camp. This week in Philly should show us more.

 

[Rob0729]

Can it? Sure. Will it? I don't know. Maybe by the end of the year.

I think the offense will have its missteps and bumps in the road early in the season. There are a lot of new pieces and young players. It may take a few weeks for things to come fully together. Luckily the Pats have an easy schedule the first few weeks.

I think by the end of the year though, this offense could become something special. With Gronk back hopefully at full strength and a deep WR corp and hopefully Vereen hitting like people expect, it could create match up nightmares for opposing defenses. The Pats could go into a five receiver set and potentially every one of the five receivers need to be accounted for because any one of them are legitimate threats.

 

[stcjones]

ANYTHING is POSSIBLE with TFB and BB at the HELM.....ANYTHING!!!!!!!! I think in all seriousness we have a whole bunch of talented question marks out there right now...But they are ALL looking very promising.....But we have seen this show before with Chad Jackson, Brandon Tate, Taylor price etc......Who knows what to expect from this cast of rooks at WR and TE? OL has to be as good as last year that is for sure......Amendola has to stay healthy this season....something he has never been able to do for the whole year....We shall see.......too many what if's right now to be able to predict anything.....we shall see!

 

[Nunchucks]

I think it is hard for it to be "better" than last year. What I am hoping to see is a more diverse offense, one that can do more than throw to Wes Welker and run the ball on quick counts or hurry ups. Patriots need to threaten at every level, I believe this version of the offense will do that...it will be more effective when facing top defenses, which has been the Achilles heel of the team in the past.

 

[TB12_laser designator]

I think it is hard for it to be "better" than last year. What I am hoping to see is a more diverse offense, one that can do more than throw to Wes Welker and run the ball on quick counts or hurry ups. Patriots need to threaten at every level, I believe this version of the offense will do that...it will be more effective when facing top defenses, which has been the Achilles heel of the team in the past.

+1 to that. Our dependency on Welker has hurt us in big games and made us predictable. The current crop of promising young WR's have the potential to bring variety to our attack and make us much more unpredictable than we have been in recent seasons. So while no one individual might equal the individual stats produced by Welker. Collectively as a unit, they could be much more lethal, especially in the big games.

 

[Rob0729]

ANYTHING is POSSIBLE with TFB and BB at the HELM.....ANYTHING!!!!!!!! I think in all seriousness we have a whole bunch of talented question marks out there right now...But they are ALL looking very promising.....But we have seen this show before with Chad Jackson, Brandon Tate, Taylor price etc......Who knows what to expect from this cast of rooks at WR and TE? OL has to be as good as last year that is for sure......Amendola has to stay healthy this season....something he has never been able to do for the whole year....We shall see.......too many what if's right now to be able to predict anything.....we shall see!

I said this in another thread. Christopher Price was on the radio the other day and he said none of the past rookie WR failures looked as good as Dobson has in training camp. Unlike rookie WRs of the past, Dobson seems to have immediately grasped the system and has been thriving immediately. Yes, I know Chad Jackson looked great in a minicamp right off the bat, but he didn't look nearly as good when he got to camp.

Rookies are always a crapshoot what they will do when the season starts, but at least Dobson looks to escape the failures of past Patriots rookie WRs.

 

[Kontradiction]

Can this season's offense be better than a top five all-time offense? Everything, and I mean everything, would have to fall exactly right for that to happen. Amendola would have to make up 3/4's of Welker's production, Sudfeld will have to do what he's done in TC against real NFL defenses, Gronk would have to be absolutely healthy from Week 1 on, and two of the three rookie WR's are going to have to get it and make immediate and hard impacts from Week 1 on. If all that happens (which is unlikely, given the complexity of the Erhardt-Perkins), this year's offense could theoretically be better than last year's.

I'm not expecting that to happen. I'd be ecstatic if it does, but the likelihood is pretty low. Hopefully, though, one or two of the rookies is able to fully absorb the offense and get on the same page with Brady when it comes to the option routes on any given play and what he expects of them pre-snap. Give me that, health, and an effective ground game and the 2013 offense could be more multi-dimensional than any offense we've seen in New England since 2004.

 

[Nehalem]

I think so

Amendola has the potential to be more dynamic than Welker

Hernandez was injured last year and was not a major factor

Lloyd, beyond the SF game was really nothing special.

Vereen should be able to fill in for Woodhead, with more upside.

So, if things break our way I can see it.

 

[PatsFan37]

Last year at this time, with Brady, Welker, Gronk, the TE without a name, the Lloyd of our imagination (who was having a great camp), Vereen, Ridley, Bolden, and Woodhead, people were saying it would be better than the 2007 offense.

This year we think Amendola and Edelman, Gronk after 5 surgeries, Dobson and Boyce and Thompkins and Sudfeld will be better than that.

It's tough just to make the playoffs, though I think they will. More than anything, I want to see an offense that can stay on the field against playoff defenses. That's the only kind of 'better' I care about. Right now it's a little tough to project all these rookies marching down the field against the best the NFL can throw at them.

Mostly, I think the defense will be better and that will give the offense time to grow.

 

[ivanvamp]

I think it is hard for it to be "better" than last year. What I am hoping to see is a more diverse offense, one that can do more than throw to Wes Welker and run the ball on quick counts or hurry ups. Patriots need to threaten at every level, I believe this version of the offense will do that...it will be more effective when facing top defenses, which has been the Achilles heel of the team in the past.

I don't think we'll see this year's offense put up more points per game than last year's. I think the potential is there long-term for them to be really dynamic, but I think early on it will be a very real work in progress. And that will mean they'll probably struggle at times early in the season, and thus in order to equal last year's total output the second half of the year they'll have to score like 40 points a game....which I don't see happening.

I think we need to be prepared to see a lot more Tom Brady interceptions - not necessarily because of Brady, but because these young receivers are going to make mistakes, and Brady will be throwing to the spots where the receivers should be but aren't. It will take time for that to get ironed out.

But I think that as the playoffs come around, we'll see the following:

(1) The defense will improve as the young guys really get going. This will mean better field position for the offense and maybe more direct scoring by the defense. It should also mean the Pats' offense gets the ball back more quickly as the D gets off the field in fewer plays.

(2) The young receivers will start to get it, and we'll see improved chemistry between them and Brady. Fewer mistakes and turnovers.

(3) The offense will be more ready to handle any situation against top defenses, which bodes well come playoff time.

In other words, I think we could be in for a little bit of a bumpy ride along the way, but when it all shakes out, this team will be better positioned to succeed in the playoffs than they have been in recent years. Unfortunately, I think that bumpy ride could cost them some home field advantage, so they're likely to have to go win on the road in order to get to the Super Bowl.

 

[patsinthesnow]

No. Come 'on people.

2012 offense:

34.8 points per game
428 yards per game

In order for that to happen, we would need:

-Two of the 3 rookie WRs would need to breakout and have seasons comparable to T.Y Hilton and Justin Blackmon last year. (replaces Lloyd and Hernandez production)
-Amendola would need to be healthy all 16 games. (replaces Welker production)
-Gronk would have to come back sooner than later and play well. (Gronk production)
-Sudfeld/Ballard emerge as a good #2 TE next to Gronk or Vereen/Washington emerge as a receiving threat. (replaces Woodhead production)

Way too many ifs.

 

[Rob0729]

Can this season's offense be better than a top five all-time offense? Everything, and I mean everything, would have to fall exactly right for that to happen. Amendola would have to make up 3/4's of Welker's production, Sudfeld will have to do what he's done in TC against real NFL defenses, Gronk would have to be absolutely healthy from Week 1 on, and two of the three rookie WR's are going to have to get it and make immediate and hard impacts from Week 1 on. If all that happens (which is unlikely, given the complexity of the Erhardt-Perkins), this year's offense could theoretically be better than last year's.

I'm not expecting that to happen. I'd be ecstatic if it does, but the likelihood is pretty low. Hopefully, though, one or two of the rookies is able to fully absorb the offense and get on the same page with Brady when it comes to the option routes on any given play and what he expects of them pre-snap. Give me that, health, and an effective ground game and the 2013 offense could be more multi-dimensional than any offense we've seen in New England since 2004.

I think expecting it to be as good right off the bat is crazy. I think if we look at it as if "can it be as good or better in December?", then I think it is a possibility. Is it a good possibility? You explained really well why it is a crapshoot.

I don't think the final numbers of this offense are going to be like last year. This offense will start the regular season significantly worse than last year's offense. The good news is that it can still be one of the league's top offenses and have that kind of a drop off. What we can hope for is by the middle or end of the season, this offense really starts to gel and becomes as good or better than last year.

 

[Rob0729]

No. Come 'on people.

2012 offense:

34.8 points per game
428 yards per game

In order for that to happen, we would need:

-Two of the 3 rookie WRs would need to breakout and have seasons comparable to T.Y Hilton and Justin Blackmon last year. (replaces Lloyd and Hernandez production)
-Amendola would need to be healthy all 16 games. (replaces Welker production)
-Gronk would have to come back sooner than later and play well. (Gronk production)
-Sudfeld/Ballard emerge as a good #2 TE next to Gronk or Vereen/Washington emerge as a receiving threat. (replaces Woodhead production)

Way too many ifs.

As I said in my last post, to expect the entire season numbers to be as good or better is too much to ask for. To hope this offense is as good or better than last year by the end of this season is not though.

 

[Kontradiction]

I think expecting it to be as good right off the bat is crazy. I think if we look at it as if "can it be as good or better in December?", then I think it is a possibility. Is it a good possibility? You explained really well why it is a crapshoot.

I don't think the final numbers of this offense are going to be like last year. This offense will start the regular season significantly worse than last year's offense. The good news is that it can still be one of the league's top offenses and have that kind of a drop off. What we can hope for is by the middle or end of the season, this offense really starts to gel and becomes as good or better than last year.

I understand. The OP didn't exactly set any sort of boundaries in his first post, though, which is why I responded in the context of Week 1 on. Like I said, it's theoretically possible that this offense can be better than 2012's. It's also theoretically possible that this could be the worst offense we've fielded since the early 2000's. It all depends on how the new guys adapt.

 

[Mack Herron]

As I said in my last post, to expect the entire season numbers to be as good or better is too much to ask for. To hope this offense is as good or better than last year by the end of this season is not though.

This is a solid point. With so many new receivers it will be a different offense than last year, and will take time to find its identity. Bound to be some growing pains. Apart from winning the division, does anyone really care about regular season stats? I expect them to be much better when they are playing in January when it matters.

patriots - Not so fast: With new faces, Patriots may slow offense in 2013 - WEEI | Christopher Price

 

[tonyto3690]

There's a better chance Sanchez throws for 40 TDs than our offense this year being better than a top 3 offense of all time.

 

[Nunchucks]

I said this in another thread. Christopher Price was on the radio the other day and he said none of the past rookie WR failures looked as good as Dobson has in training camp. Unlike rookie WRs of the past, Dobson seems to have immediately grasped the system and has been thriving immediately. Yes, I know Chad Jackson looked great in a minicamp right off the bat, but he didn't look nearly as good when he got to camp.

Rookies are always a crapshoot what they will do when the season starts, but at least Dobson looks to escape the failures of past Patriots rookie WRs.

None of the past "rookie" WRs have gotten so many reps with the first team offense in TC as the rookie WRs this year.

 

[Sicilian]

This question has a few layers that make it hard for me to answer. First and foremost, last year's offense had it's share of injuries too. Welker and Lloyd were there, but Gronk and Hernandez were both injured for portions and rarely played together. That team still led the league in scoring and moved the ball well in the AFCCG, stalling in the red zone.

This year? We're counting on a lot of unknowns. It's like rolling a bunch of dice and wondering if they CAN come up all 5's and 6's. Sure, but what are the odds? And I think it's unreasonable to ask if this crop of players can outperform the #1 offense in the league last year.

The real question is, can this group, with all it's potential and all it's questions, get close enough to last year's offense that an expected boost in defensive play and special teams adds up to a better TEAM than last year. I think they absolutely can do that, yes.

 

[Oswlek]

Can it happen? Sure, anything is possible. Will it happen? Probably not. But it will be whole lot better than the doom and gloomers would have you think.

No. Come 'on people.

2012 offense:

34.8 points per game
428 yards per game

In order for that to happen, we would need:

-Two of the 3 rookie WRs would need to breakout and have seasons comparable to T.Y Hilton and Justin Blackmon last year. (replaces Lloyd and Hernandez production)
-Amendola would need to be healthy all 16 games. (replaces Welker production)
-Gronk would have to come back sooner than later and play well. (Gronk production)
-Sudfeld/Ballard emerge as a good #2 TE next to Gronk or Vereen/Washington emerge as a receiving threat. (replaces Woodhead production)

Way too many ifs.

The funny thing is, when you type it up that way, it actually sounds more reasonable, not less. :rocker: