Will the offense be better in 2014?

Do you all think the offense will improve, and if so how much? Below are the players I view as most likely to have some type of role in the offense.

QB – Brady
RB – Ridley, Vereen, White
WR – Edelman, Dobson, LaFell, Amendola, Boyce
TE – Gronkowski, Hoomanawanui
OL – Solder, Mankins, Vollmer, Cannon, Stork, Fleming, Halapio

Personally, I think it will be significantly improved, I think McDaniels prefers the three wide receiver offense to the two tight end (O’Brien preferred this) and he now has enough receivers to do it effectively again. We probably have the best top four wide receivers we have had since 2007 when we had Moss, Welker, Stallworth, and Gaffney. Obviously, these players will likely never be as good as that group but they should still be very effective, and we have Gronkowski whom is world better than who had in 2007.

It can't be worse than last year. Last year was a learning year with Gronk out, Wes with the Broncos, Aaron in jail and Ridley having a down year. We didn't have an identity. It was a trial year to see who steps up. Edelman emerged as an elite slot player, Dobson got better, our run game was very good as the season wore on. If Gronk is healthy and with Lafell now I think we will be top 10.

SalemPats said:

It can't be worse than last year. Last year was a learning year with Gronk out, Wes with the Broncos, Aaron in jail and Ridley having a down year. We didn't have an identity. It was a trial year to see who steps up. Edelman emerged as an elite slot player, Dobson got better, our run game was very good as the season wore on. If Gronk is healthy and with Lafell now I think we will be top 10.

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Top 10? Pats were 6th in yards/game and 4th in points/game last year. That's arguably a top 5 offense. A top 10 O this year would be a decline.

The only thing they've lost on O this year is Blount. Given the influx of talent, the maturation of young receivers, and a defense likely to spend less time on the field, the Pats offense should be top 3 if they stay even moderately healthy.

Galeb said:

Top 10? Pats were 6th in yards/game and 4th in points/game last year. That's arguably a top 5 offense. A top 10 O this year would be a decline.

The only thing they've lost on O this year is Blount. Given the influx of talent, the maturation of young receivers, and a defense likely to spend less time on the field, the Pats offense should be top 3 if they stay even moderately healthy.

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You're right, I meant passing offense (which i just looked at and we were 10th). Maybe I should clarify that we can be a consistent and dominant offense

Will be better? Certainly.

Will be elite? Nope. It will be enough for us to make the playoffs, then in january, we will see how the chips will fall.

SalemPats said:

You're right, I meant passing offense (which i just looked at and we were 10th). Maybe I should clarify that we can be a consistent and dominant offense

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Pats D was 26th in the league at 3rd down conversions with 42% and they were 17th in Time of Possession. Assuming they are not ravaged by injuries, with a vastly improved secondary, the Pats should improve dramatically in these areas this year. That will make the offense better.

I believe the offense will be better. I don't normally like to general reasons why any aspect of the team should be better over the prior year, but:

1) Between the young receivers and Brandon LaFels, some of these players will emerge. It's been another year for the receivers and the growing pains for the youngsters and Brady should be lesser. And Amendola may turn things around. Given the quantity of WRs in camp, a reliable combination should emerge. This is such a general answer, but I can't see our WRs not improving.

2) A deepened offensive line - while the draftpicks are still only rookies, I like them as back-ups this year.

2a) Vollmer is back

3) As previously mentioned by another poster, the team takes time to acclimate to a Gronk-less, Hernandez-less, and Welker-less existence. Hopefully Gronk can hang around this season. The good news is that our TE situation can't get worse than last year...but it may not have gotten better also.

varjao said:

Will be better? Certainly.

Will be elite? Nope. It will be enough for us to make the playoffs, then in january, we will see how the chips will fall.

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We won't be elite yet we were third in points last season.

If I compared the offense to week 1 of 2012 when everyone was healthy, I would say this is how it would look -

2012/2014
Y-TE – Gronkowski/Gronkowski
Z-WR – Welker/Edelman
X-WR – Lloyd/Dobson
Flex WR/TE – Hernandez/LaFell
3rd WR – Edelman/Amendola
4th WR – Branch/Boyce
5th WR – Stallworth/Thompkins
RB – Ridley/Ridley
3rd down RB – Woodhead/Vereen
Backup RB – Bolden/White

varjao said:

Will be better? Certainly.

Will be elite? Nope. It will be enough for us to make the playoffs, then in january, we will see how the chips will fall.

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What is elite in your opinion? Is it the 2013 Broncos and 2007 Patriots, or is it finishing in top 5 in the league.

Like last year, with Gronk = elite. Without Gronk= not elite.

Hernandez in his three seasons average 58 receptions, 652 yards, and 6 touchdowns. Brandon LaFell had 49 receptions, 627 yards, and 5 touchdowns last season, and 44 receptions, 677 yards, and 4 touchdowns in 2012; I think he is here to fill the void left by Hernandez. He will not be the matchup nightmare Hernandez was but he will be able to give us some of that production, and he will not be the overall nightmare Hernandez was.

Aaron Dobson will be the first X-WR receiver Brady has had since Randy Moss to be here for a second season, and he has a chance to be a very good player. I think we saw last season that Edelman gives us close to what Welker did, and Amendola is an upgrade over Deion Branch (in his later years here). In addition, Vereen is much more dynamic than Woodhead, and Josh Boyce offers a speed element we have not had in a long time.

If Aaron Dobson had the whole offseason to work and to improve, i'd be much more confortable. Being honest, knowing that he had to have an operation and will lose the Offseason activity creates some doubts about his second year jump.

Also, I (and i guess that the majority here) think the TE depth is terribly thin. It'll probably be upgraded with another player (Keller's the best option) but still it lacks something, specifically considering that Gronk may not start and, more importantly, may not end the season.

So, I'll say that we'll start better with LaFell, better version of Boyce, etc, but the grand part of "how much better" is a question of hoping that all works out well

letekro said:

Like last year, with Gronk = elite. Without Gronk= not elite.

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Which is not surprising to me, Rob Gronkowski when healthy is in a tier of players that consists of him, Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson. He is truly special; he has the advantage in every matchup. If you took Randy Moss out of the 2007 offense it would have dropped from elite to not elite as well.

The only way it won't be better is if we have all the same injuries as last year (Gronk, Vereen, Dobson, Amendola, Vollmer) plus Edelman getting hurt, and all recieving additions fail. In other words, it's going to be better

Things the Pats have to do to be significantly better on offense in 2014:

1. Protect Brady better.
2. Execute better in the red zone.
3. Convert better on 3rd down.

There is potential to accomplish all 3 of those things, but much remains to be seen as far as how the OL, WR RB and TE situations sort out.

Also, one thing to consider is the HUGE amount of talent that will hit Free Agency next year at the WR position:

Torrey Smith, Demaryius Thomas, Reggie Wayne, Jeremy Maclin, Hakeem Nicks ,Dez Bryant, Michael Crabtree, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Roddy White, Wes Welker

So if nothing goes our way this season, next year would be a good year to hit the grocery store lol

Yes, I'm confident that there will be an improvement (provided Brady doesn't suddenly lose his magic).

The thing I noticed most last year was that they almost never used the hurry-up, which had been such a potent weapon for them -- 3rd and 1, up to the line of scrimmage, line up and bang! Clearly, all of the new parts in the offense (wide receivers especially) couldn't fit into that slick rhythm. If nothing else, they'll all know the system much better this year.

I think they will sign Dustin Keller after June 1 as well. If he is healthy, he is a freakish athlete at the move TE position.

Height: 6021
Weight: 242
40 Yard Dash: 4.53
20 Yard Dash: 2.65
10 Yard Dash: 1.62
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 26
Vertical Jump: 41
Broad Jump: 10'11"
20 Yard Shuttle: 3.94
3-Cone Drill: 6.88

I would love to see him in the role Hernandez played. His size, speed, and strength would be fun to watch.

I agree that the offense will be significantly improved. We just need a bit of health. It would hard to believe that we would repeat the long list of injuries from last year, especially among the receivers. I have a couple of comments.

1) We are likely to add a RB, and perhaps a FB. Blount left a hole, and a roster position. Develin might be upgraded, or their will be a switch in roles, with Hooman being a blocker in the backfield.

2) I agree that we are likely to sign Dustin Keller.

3) I see no reason to suggest that neither Wendell or Connolly will be among the 7 offensive linemen to play a role. The list you gave has only Stork at center. With all the rookies, I expect us to carry 9 OL's. Even with 8, I would expect Connolly or Wendell in addition to your list.

Brady6 said:

Do you all think the offense will improve, and if so how much? Below are the players I view as most likely to have some type of role in the offense.

QB – Brady
RB – Ridley, Vereen, White
WR – Edelman, Dobson, LaFell, Amendola, Boyce
TE – Gronkowski, Hoomanawanui
OL – Solder, Mankins, Vollmer, Cannon, Stork, Fleming, Halapio

Personally, I think it will be significantly improved, I think McDaniels prefers the three wide receiver offense to the two tight end (O’Brien preferred this) and he now has enough receivers to do it effectively again. We probably have the best top four wide receivers we have had since 2007 when we had Moss, Welker, Stallworth, and Gaffney. Obviously, these players will likely never be as good as that group but they should still be very effective, and we have Gronkowski whom is world better than who had in 2007.

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