on the positive, Josh Boyce looked good

[RIpats88]

Looks like he finally may understand the offense showed good speed and made some plays. if he can finally come "on" and we get Thompkins and Dobson back..

just perhaps brady will have enough targets to overcome the loss of Gronk:

Amendola, Edelman, Dobson, Thompkins,boyce, Vereen

certainly better than what we had to trot out without gronk last year against the ravens. Welker, an injured hernandez, Soft-brandon lloyd and deion branch

 

[stevedogc]

just perhaps brady will have enough targets to overcome the loss of Gronk:

Seriously?

I will say this though, Brady, shotgun, 5 wide's the rest of the season. Edelperson, Vereen, Amendola and a combo of Dobson/Thompkins/Boyce. Let Brady read the defense and hopefully find a weak spot.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

I am still holding out hope for gronk. There is a 99.999999999999999999999% chance gronk is done, but I don't think he is done for the year. I saw the hit, and his leg was never planted. The knee and lower leg went with the hit, and some of that energy went into the other leg. I am hoping hoping hoping that he can miraculously play this year. Highly unlikely, but I just can't count gronk out for the year now. Especially since we all think its a given.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Seriously?

I will say this though, Brady, shotgun, 5 wide's the rest of the season. Edelperson, Vereen, Amendola and a combo of Dobson/Thompkins/Boyce. Let Brady read the defense and hopefully find a weak spot.

As an aside: When the season started, did anyone have Edelman as the only WR who could stay healthy?

On point: Boyce looked crisp.

 

[stevedogc]

I am still holding out hope for gronk. There is a 99.999999999999999999999% chance gronk is done, but I don't think he is done for the year. I saw the hit, and his leg was never planted. The knee and lower leg went with the hit, and some of that energy went into the other leg. I am hoping hoping hoping that he can miraculously play this year. Highly unlikely, but I just can't count gronk out for the year now. Especially since we all think its a given.

I thought the same thing. His cleats were never planted in the turf and his foot did slide with the hit. But you cant discount the obvious. He was in alot of pain. You could hear him yelling during the broadcast.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I am still holding out hope for gronk. There is a 99.999999999999999999999% chance gronk is done, but I don't think he is done for the year. I saw the hit, and his leg was never planted. The knee and lower leg went with the hit, and some of that energy went into the other leg. I am hoping hoping hoping that he can miraculously play this year. Highly unlikely, but I just can't count gronk out for the year now. Especially since we all think its a given.

Honestly I was thinking the same when I saw the hit. It didn't look like a play that would cause a ligament tear or a bone fracture, just a really hard hit. But then seeing the stretcher was changed that thought

 

[BelichickFan]

just perhaps brady will have enough targets to overcome the loss of Gronk:

Seriously?

I think the point was that, while the loss of Gronk is devastating, we are better off now than when he was out earlier.

Vereen is back. HUGE. Boyce looks ready to contribute somewhat. Dobson and Thompkins are more familiar with the offense/Brady, etc (of course they need to get healthy).

Nothing can overcome the loss of Gronk. But we're better off now than we were in the last game we played without the big guy.

 

[Betterthanmost]

I am still holding out hope for gronk. There is a 99.999999999999999999999% chance gronk is done, but I don't think he is done for the year. I saw the hit, and his leg was never planted. The knee and lower leg went with the hit, and some of that energy went into the other leg. I am hoping hoping hoping that he can miraculously play this year. Highly unlikely, but I just can't count gronk out for the year now. Especially since we all think its a given.

Interesting that you should say this, I too had a similar feeling until I started hearing all these reports of ACL.
At first I thought it was a spinal injury based on his hand exhibiting spasms.
It appeared that he could not move his lower body at all. If it is a knee injury I will take it for his sake as compared to an injury to his spine or back.

 

[RIpats88]

I think the point was that, while the loss of Gronk is devastating, we are better off now than when he was out earlier.

Vereen is back. HUGE. Boyce looks ready to contribute somewhat. Dobson and Thompkins are more familiar with the offense/Brady, etc (of course they need to get healthy).

Nothing can overcome the loss of Gronk. But we're better off now than we were in the last game we played without the big guy.

yeah, thats probably the best way to put it. we still have Brady and if the guys know the offense he should be able to find the mismatch

 

[NYCPatsFan]

I think the point was that, while the loss of Gronk is devastating, we are better off now than when he was out earlier.

Vereen is back. HUGE. Boyce looks ready to contribute somewhat. Dobson and Thompkins are more familiar with the offense/Brady, etc (of course they need to get healthy).

Nothing can overcome the loss of Gronk. But we're better off now than we were in the last game we played without the big guy.

And that was when we got a W over the Saints.

So, though I am not sure when I would get over the depression of Gronk's loss, I do like our chances.

Bring it on!

 

[CelticPatriot]

He would have had a game winning TD pass if it wasn't for the PI. I don't know if he's always been like this but he seems really hard to get down/tackle, a bit like Edelman except faster.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I do think that, going forward, the Pats' best shot might come from using a ton of spread formation, with either 3WR and a TE or 4WR on the field with Vereen. It would also be really interesting to see Ridley and Vereen on the field together for prolonged periods. Could create some confusion with the defense, and in a no-huddle situation you can always shift Vereen out wide.

I'd like that plan a lot more if I had any faith in the line to make its blocks. There isn't a single player on this line that I trust in the passing game. Solder's been garbage for weeks, Mankins is usually good but picks random games to be terrible, Connolly and Wendell simply aren't good, and Svitek is the fourth tackle for a reason.

 

[BradyFTW!]

He would have had a game winning TD pass if it wasn't for the PI. I don't know if he's always been like this but he seems really hard to get down/tackle, a bit like Edelman except faster.

He did look a lot like this in his college highlights. If there's one area where he really separates himself from the other receivers on the roster, it's in his ability to break off chunks of yardage after the catch. He absolutely has the physical tools to be a quality WR, but it seems to me like the question marks with him are his hands and his ability to grasp the offense (which, for me, is a question mark with every WR until proven otherwise).

 

[SVN]

Seriously?

I will say this though, Brady, shotgun, 5 wide's the rest of the season. Edelperson, Vereen, Amendola and a combo of Dobson/Thompkins/Boyce. Let Brady read the defense and hopefully find a weak spot.

He will get killed behind this oline that way.

 

[doesntmatter1]

He was so-so. I don't see why he couldn't catch that last pass in the endzone. Thankfully we got a ticky tack penalty go in our favor.

 

[hwc]

Did Dobson or KT play today?

 

[Deus Irae]

I thought Collie would end up with more snaps than Boyce, so i was way off on that one.

 

[patsfan-1982]

vereen has been Brady's #1 guy since he has been back if teams find a way to stop him that's when the pats will have big problems untill then every one they face will have to bring there A game for a full 60 min

 

[Joker]

Did Dobson or KT play today?

both out....

 

[Luke Skywelker]

Impact on his knee did differ than the usual ACL tear, where you could see the knee buckle/contort. The guy just came in hard with his helmet and the impact was heavy, but never did I see his knee go into an unnatural position. As mentioned, hard to deny the pain he was in.