Still a SB chance after losing Gronk?

I think if we have Thompkins back as well as Dobson anything is possible. They still managed to score two TDs in the last 2 mins without Gronk. I know this was the Browns but there is no denying the fight and competitiveness of this team !! Gronk makes it easier but who said this team does anything the easy way. I still believe there is something special about this years team. Very few teams can overcome these kind of injuries to their biggest playmakers and still win 10 games and counting.....Anything is possible !

Before Gronk's injury I had my doubts simply because of the injuries on D and the Pats recent failures in the SB while having the best offense in the league. With a healthy Gronk I believed they still had a punchers chance, now I don't. Wilfork, Mayo, Kelly, Vollmer, and Gronk gone for the year. Add to that a hobbled Talib, Spikes, and possibly Dennard... I just don't see how they can beat any team which has a great D without Gronk.

Call me a pessimist and I just might be right now... seriously depressed.

It's going to come down to the trench positions. If the defensive line can hold its own it will help the secondary a lot better. If the o-line can provide Brady with the time and establish the run game a little more, they'll be fine. Unfortunately, Gronk was a key to helping the run game with his blocking ability and the fact that he kept defenses guessing on whether he was going out or staying in.

SVN said:

our pass rush is based on coverage. We were putrid today vs gordon-the one guy they had to take away.

Click to expand...

Right, and to your point they really miss a guy like Dennard which allows them the luxury of rolling coverage. Well effectively anyway. The way i see it they can overcome the shortcoming of their LB crew with a healthy secondary. If not the LB can be had, this d has been bad on 3rd down.

It's time to take a look at Moss, if that has not been done already.

Re: Re: Still a SB chance after losing Gronk?

PatsFan24 said:

It's time to take a look at Moss, if that has not been done already.

Click to expand...

Whaaa?!!? 10 fn char

everlong said:

Without Gronk you lose the matchup advantage vs Denver and they can suffocate the short middle and Cincinnati already showed what they can do in the red zone when they don't have to defend Gronk.

Then there's what's likely Seattle.

Click to expand...

While Seattle is probably the best team in the league right now, don't forget we won't see them until a cold winter night in an outdoor venue away from home. The Seahawks are a much different team on the road.

They would still be the favourites, but I like our chances in a winter wonderland against anyone. The question is if we can get there.

Yesterday, I was pretty defeated after the injury but there's still hope I suppose. Win out and that's the #2 seed. One Broncos slip-up would give us the #1 seed. Then again, we're probably more likely to drop one (@ Miami, @ Ravens) so who knows?

But we did put up 27 points in less than a half without Gronk against a top 10 defense yesterday. Granted, we needed every last second we could get. This offense is obviously not as potent without Gronk, but still dangerous enough to make some noise. And the run defense is much improved with Siliga in there. Of course the pass defense was atrocious but assuming Talib and Dennard get healthy in time for the play-offs, we could have a puncher's chance.

We'll be the heavy underdogs to everyone, but I will still watch the games until there's 0:00 on the clock. Tom Brady and BB have proven over the years that they cannot be counted out under any circumstances, and if you don't believe me, just ask the Saints/Broncos/Browns this year alone.

sRe: Still a SB chance after losing Gronk?

Huge loss, in addition to Wilfork,Mayo, etc,I don't know if the Pats can overcome this...I love to watch Gronk because he plays with such heart, and is the best in the game (he is a great blocker as well as a reciever).A great win, it came with a high price.Props to Vereen, has become a major threat.

This defense just isn't good enough. I don't care what Brady does, the defense is not playoff caliber.

I'm a big Pats fan but realistically once they lost all those players on D (and O for that matter) they have a very, very slim chance of making it far in the playoffs...even if they get a first round bye.

They shouldn't have to struggle against teams like the Browns and Texans. Eventually, they'll go up against a team that will run on their just awful run defense and their now severely depleted offense won't be able to cover for.

Earlier in the year, the D was able cover for an Gronk (and Hernandez)-less offense with rookie WR's dropping balls left and right. But now that both sides of the ball have suffered major injuries, I don't see them stopping Denver on the road or something like that. I know it's the NFL and any given Sunday and all that but yeah Super Bowl bound, this team is not.

PatsFan24 said:

It's time to take a look at Moss, if that has not been done already.

Click to expand...

I sure they look at him all the time on Fox Sports One. That's about as far as the Pats will look at Moss at this point.

Moss is done. Time to move on.

SVN said:

Past does not mean anything right now. Those teams with those teams were healthier and had better defenses.

Click to expand...

Past means a lot in this context.
For 10 years this ye had improved throughout the season to peak at the end. That approach philosophy and mindset is still in place.

I thought they had a still had good shot at getting to the SB even with the devastating injuries on D. Now... they're probably toast...

We have a chance, but not a great one. With the injuries on D we basically have to win a shoot out every week. That just became a lot harder with no Gronk.

convertedpatsfan said:

But we did put up 27 points in less than a half without Gronk against a top 10 defense yesterday. Granted, we needed every last second we could get. This offense is obviously not as potent without Gronk, but still dangerous enough to make some noise. And the run defense is much improved with Siliga in there. Of course the pass defense was atrocious but assuming Talib and Dennard get healthy in time for the play-offs, we could have a puncher's chance.

Click to expand...

sorry to nitpick but cleveland is not a top 10 d. they may be in yardage, but points, red zone, 3rd down, turnovers, they are closer to the bottom than the top.

AndyJohnson said:

Past means a lot in this context.
For 10 years this ye had improved throughout the season to peak at the end. That approach philosophy and mindset is still in place.

Click to expand...

We can agree to disagree. They were an onside kick away from losing a december game. We didnt win yesterday because of our past december history.

Let wait until the season is over. I want to see first if Amendola,vereen,Talib and company will survive the rest of the regular season. I already envision other people going down this year, I hope I'm wrong.

I think we can all just agree to disagree on their chances going forward. Now comes the question of what do they do to compensate for this loss. This definitely not only hurts the passing offense but the running offense. If you put Mulligan or another TE out there you've given the defense the tendency to run and if you add a WR you've done the same with the pass. In the passing game the number one thing they are going to be pressed to replace is Gronks ability to get open up the seam and by doing so opening up the under routes for the rest of the receivers.

I think it's probably going to have to be seam by committee if you will. One of the major issues though is Brady being able to put it up high for Gronk. Everybody else is a smurf on the roster compared to him. So I think they'll have to attack it differently by sending the receiver at the safety and then changing direction and not going straight up. Boyce has the best straight line speed, Dobson the tallest and Thompkins has the best body control. It will be interesting to see.

Of course the biggest question is which of them is available for Miami.

All I can say is that this team continues to defy the odds and do the improbabe every week.

Just as much as I could see them get bounced in the first round I could see them continue to get these strange lucky bounces and grind it out all the way to a Superbowl

With Brady you have a chance

SVN said:

We can agree to disagree. They were an onside kick away from losing a december game. We didnt win yesterday because of our past december history.

Click to expand...

You don't win because of the history, you win because the reasons for the history are still in place. They are.
BTW, saying agree to disagree then making an argument is not good form.