Welker not re-signing is not the issue; everything else is…

[Brady6]

The slot receiver has been the only productive and consistent position on the offense; Edelman and Amendola have combined for 30 receptions, 261 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns in 2 games. All those who have referred to the team letting Welker walk as this huge screw up; the reality is that the slot position is just fine. The issue is the 1 reception for 5 yards out of the tight end position, and are rookie wide receivers catching just 9 of 33 targets so far this season. I do not believe Welker changes any of that, so if there is a gripe it has more to do with not addressing the tight end position, or the draft selections.

 

[deters]

This offense was setup great after the draft and in the off season. We had a WR/TE group featuring Amendola, Hernandez, Gronkowski, Edelman and the rookies. We were only supposed to expect production from 1 or 2 rookies in the WR/TE group with that lineup. What was looking like a great offense in the making, is nothing more than a disaster currently...

 

[MassPats38]

Welker is a receiver and could have been on the field, whether you call him or JE slot or not. It would have made a big difference last night.

The issue is you have injuries and rookies (Gronkowski will be back and so will Amendola - put them out there and this game is a blowout). Sudfeld may be fine. Shane Vereen has shown he can catch, but he was out. Rookies will make plenty of mistakes when thrown in NFL games, and these did. When bad games become a string of bad games, and drops continue past game 4 with regularity, then I will start diagnosing the team's failings. For many, the hope was this group will be solid by the end of the season.

If you expected 35 points at the beginning of the season, then you may want to lower that expectation a bit. The Pats won. I will happily take the win at this point.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

True we have been fine in the slot. So far it looks as if Lloyd should have been brought back though, or going harder after Sanders when the Steelers had their hands tied. Knowing that Gronk's status was up in the air, AH is gone, and how injury prone DA is, it was a major risk coming in with nothing but Edelman, Jenkins, Jones, and rookies beyond that.

 

[borg]

We do have cap space which is so comforting

 

[Bella*chick]

Aaron Hernandez and Gronk still being out=the problem. Hernandez SCREWED us bigtime not to mention what a murdering POS he is. As for Gronk, well, he will be back. And at least Amendola's injury isn't as bad as it could be. Just a nagging type thing, which is also annoying. And Vereen would have been helpful too but that was another one of those stupid freak injuries.

I put Welker waaaay down the list.

 

[sambam94]

It's a crying shame that we have one of the best QBs in the league, but never gave him a legit outside threat. Imagine Brady with a AJ Green, Julio Jones..heck even a Vincent Jackson type. It's so frustrating...this team is going no where this year with that offense.

 

[IllegalContact]

the pats are 2-0 ...... were they 2-0 last year?

rookies screw up......they'll get better

 

[IllegalContact]

the other part of the problem is that people are so used to watching the short game around here that they don't get that the long game is a low percentage game......look at career numbers of some of the long guys like megatron...they catch a total between 50-60% but since all you see in the highlight reel are the good ones, it is easy to assume that all that happens.......it is not

 

[signbabybrady]

It's a crying shame that we have one of the best QBs in the league, but never gave him a legit outside threat. Imagine Brady with a AJ Green, Julio Jones..heck even a Vincent Jackson type. It's so frustrating...this team is going no where this year with that offense.

Randy Moss says hi as does their 50 2007 TDs. So not tough to imagine.

 

[IllegalContact]

Randy Moss says hi as does their 50 2007 TDs. So not tough to imagine.

and undrafted guys and 2nd round picks don't come out of the box looking like a 30 year old randy moss

as for green and jones........they have plenty of 2 catch on 10 target games themselves.....except they don't tell you that on the highlight reel

 

[wolverinejoe80]

I had a problem with Brady's visible frustration. that was my biggest beef.

first, i'm the biggest brady fan in the world. yes, really. from day 1 at michigan, i liked this guy. i met this skinny good looking dude who doesn't talk much many times at campus. he came a long way to be an outspoken alpha male. but young brady was more reserved with internal fortitude and vibrant aura that filled the room without saying much. boy, did he change over the yeas.

we really need our general to calm down. it's not helping him or the team. visible stress can intimidate young guys. it happens to all of us. many of us are not extreme competitors like brady. and many of us are not man enough to take the heat. i never met thompkins or dobson, but they are still kids. they may have thick skin or they may not. brady needs to groom them into a critical part of our offense. show them love, and be a father figure. little bit of tough love is ok, but he needs to balance that and help them to be a confident players.

i saw great things yesterday. potential these kids have are huge. yes, stage is too big for them right now. let them grow. love them, encourage them, and help them to become our WRs for the future.

 

[Rob0729]

The TE position is the biggest problem with this team right now. Last year, the Pats killed teams with TE up the seam shots. In two games, the TE position has caught one pass. The Pats need Gronk back especially in the red zone.

 

[makoute]

and undrafted guys and 2nd round picks don't come out of the box looking like a 30 year old randy moss

as for green and jones........they have plenty of 2 catch on 10 target games themselves.....except they don't tell you that on the highlight reel

Not only that, ATL had to give up almost a whole draft for Jones, and both Jones and Green were top 10 draft picks.

 

[PatsFan2]

I had a problem with Brady's visible frustration. that was my biggest beef.

first, i'm the biggest brady fan in the world. yes, really. from day 1 at michigan, i liked this guy. i met this skinny good looking dude who doesn't talk much many times at campus. he came a long way to be an outspoken alpha male. but young brady was more reserved with internal fortitude and vibrant aura that filled the room without saying much. boy, did he change over the yeas.

we really need our general to calm down. it's not helping him or the team. visible stress can intimidate young guys. it happens to all of us. many of us are not extreme competitors like brady. and many of us are not man enough to take the heat. i never met thompkins or dobson, but they are still kids. they may have thick skin or they may not. brady needs to groom them into a critical part of our offense. show them love, and be a father figure. little bit of tough love is ok, but he needs to balance that and help them to be a confident players.

i saw great things yesterday. potential these kids have are huge. yes, stage is too big for them right now. let them grow. love them, encourage them, and help them to become our WRs for the future.

Excellent post some of Brady's passes were not the best sprirals I have seen. As noted his fraustration is visible but these young kid's have potential they just have to keep practicing. If our Offense is like this two games from now we are in trouble.

 

[wolverinejoe80]

Excellent post some of Brady's passes were not the best sprirals I have seen. As noted his fraustration is visible but these young kid's have potential they just have to keep practicing. If our Offense is like this two games from now we are in trouble.

brady was brady 1st half. but in the 2nd half he didn't look that sharp. rain + frustration = not a good day of throwing the ball

i just hope we gradually get better. i don't mind early struggles as long as we learn and grow from it. these young guys will get better. they will have their drops. they will run a wrong route, but they make plays more and more.

and hopefully by the time they become serviceable, we get our 2 studs back and make all of our worries go away.

 

[chasa]

call me crazy, but this is exactly what the patriots need right now.

Brady is being forced to help these receivers grow and thats a GOOD thing, no more waiting 3 years while our rookie reciever gets 1 - 2 looks every 3 games because our aging offense is set in stone.

Now when a rookie plays like crap for a game brady has to keep going to them, and with any luck that rookie is going to start making some god damned catches when the ball hits you directly in the perfect spot over and over and over.

 

[nabwong]

Welker not resigning is not the issue, everything else is…

Just my 2 cents.

Everyone is split on this issue. But does anyone know what the rookies or Brady are like as a colleague? The answer is NO!

We don't really know the internal dynamics of the group. Actually there was a recent article where Ridley was asked how Brady is this year and he said something to the tune of Brady is different and a lot more patient with the players. He's learning to teach and accept the growing pains.

Look, this is the NFL. This is not your pop Warner kids where even the last team gets a prize (which I think is ruining society). Was Brady over the line? Who knows? But all I can say is, this outburst is nothing. I'm Asian. I get screamed at almost everything wrong I did growing up. Sometimes get the cane. A future hof QB screaming at you because you CONTINUOUSLY suck at your job shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[Uncle Rico]

The TE position is the biggest problem with this team right now. Last year, the Pats killed teams with TE up the seam shots. In two games, the TE position has caught one pass. The Pats need Gronk back especially in the red zone.

Yup. The Pats are down to Pro Bowl-quality tight ends from last year, one of them the best in the biz and on a career arc to be in the GOAT discussion. That's a huge impact. Still, don't want them to rush Gronk back.

call me crazy, but this is exactly what the patriots need right now.

Brady is being forced to help these receivers grow and thats a GOOD thing, no more waiting 3 years while our rookie reciever gets 1 - 2 looks every 3 games because our aging offense is set in stone.

Now when a rookie plays like crap for a game brady has to keep going to them, and with any luck that rookie is going to start making some god damned catches when the ball hits you directly in the perfect spot over and over and over.

Yup again. I'm hoping Dobson and KT and/or Boyce make a nice showing next few weeks and lay the foundation for being more integrated into this offense when the big names come back. Just makes the team better, and keeps their development going.

 

[Bella*chick]

I would love for Boyce to make any kind of showing at all. HAs he even had a catch? Was he targeted at all last night?