2014 Patriots Offense: Championship Caliber?

Question to Patriots fans. In each of our last 3 playoff losses dating back to 2011, our offense has managed to put up only 17, 13, and 16 points per game. That kind of production is not going to win you big games.

Do you think this 2014 Patriots Offense has what it takes to put enough points on the scorecard in a championship playoff game? What is different about this Patriots Offense than in years past?

Our wrs seem more interchangeable like back in the day.

Yes.

Gronkowski, Vereen, Edelman, Amendola, Dobson, LaFell, Thompkins....


The first 2 staying healthy is key.

During our 9 game postseason stretch from 2001--2004 which produced 3 SB victories, our offense wasn't exactly lighting up the scoreboard.

In the majority of those games, (taking out the 2nd half scoring fest of the Panthers SB + the AFCCG vs PIT in 04) the offense averaged about 18-19 points per game, while the defense only allowed about 14-15 points per game.

Of course, that's counting 7.5 of the 9 game stretch and leaving out the second half of the CAR/NE super bowl and the entire 2004 AFCCG, which I considered to be outside of the norm. Some would say that it's cherry picking, and I would agree on some level-- with the point being that in 7.5/9 games, our defense really carried us.

In 83% of our 9 game postseason run, our defense carried us and our offense did "just enough" to get the job done.

I think that we need to go back to being able to score in the early twenties and win games, and hopefully we can do that again through tough defense. In the meantime, yes---I think the offense of 2014 has the capacity to score 21-24 points in the postseason vs. tough defensive competition.

At the skill positions, beyond doubt. OT as well.

Concerns, if there are any other than health, should be concentrated on the interior OL.

If Ridley can hold onto the ball and Gronk's health remains in tact then it's probably one of the more balanced Patriots O's I've seen.

ausbacker said:

If Ridley can hold onto the ball and Gronk's health remains in tact then it's probably one of the more balance Patriots O's I've seen.

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I think that we obviously have the short/intermediate route game down pat, with a hopeful improvement in the deeper range receivers as well. The position itself seems to be deeper than we've had in awhile.

Our RBBC has both depth and receiving potential.

Basically, the big question mark is the OL--specifically the interior, of course.

Your offense cant score points if your defense cant get off the field on 3rd down. The best thing to happen to our offense is what looks like an athletic, shutdown secondary.

The talent we have on offense this year, centered around Ridley, Vereen, Gronk, Edelman, Thompkins and Amendola is light years ahead of what we had with Antowain Smith, Kevin Faulk, Jermaine Wiggins, Troy Brown, David Patten and David Givens.

More than enough horsepower. Question is just whether this team has that much heart... and we wont know until November or December.

Our offense is quite good, but our Defense will make the offense much better... less reliance on Brady..

Our O Receiver height is an obvious improvement... our d backs are no longer guys they find on the street...

Can BB get this team to play for him?? That is the biggest question...

Of course. There is no question about it. A lot more goes into this equation than just scoring in your final game, otherwise you'd have to say that the 2007 team didn't have a championship offense.

It's all about the Line of Scrimmage. You can have the best weapons, but lose the LOS battle and its over.....ie....the Baltimore destruction.....2 Giants SB losses....and....just ask Denver about last February at their SB

The real question is can they execute when it matters . . . that's usually all it comes down to. Our 2007 offense that set all kinds of records only put up 14 points in the SB. The teams that won the SB had far less talent, but they won. It's all relative, but I'd say that execution is more important than the names . . . well, except for Brady and Gronk.

I believe, as most do, that the defense will be what puts this team over the top. We shouldn't need for the offense to put up ridiculous point totals week in and week out. There will no doubt be games where they have to score in bunches, but there shouldn't be as much stress or pressure to do that week after week. I believe that this team is a very complete team at the top of each position, even OL. It's the depth at some positions that concerns me.

Fencer said:

At the skill positions, beyond doubt. OT as well.

Concerns, if there are any other than health, should be concentrated on the interior OL.

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Spot on. If the interior protection holds up, this should be a terrific offense. If not ... I hate to think about it.

Brady has more then enough weapons at the skill positions, with the depth to handle attrition and the breadth to create matchup problems against anyone. Tedy Bruschi even came out and said that he thought the team had more than enough offensive firepower. Jay Shields eloquently broke down some of the schematic and technical aspects:

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The tackle position is solid and deep with Solder, Vollmer, Cannon, Fleming and Devey.

It all comes down to the interior OL.

supafly said:

During our 9 game postseason stretch from 2001--2004 which produced 3 SB victories, our offense wasn't exactly lighting up the scoreboard.

In the majority of those games, (taking out the 2nd half scoring fest of the Panthers SB + the AFCCG vs PIT in 04) the offense averaged about 18-19 points per game, while the defense only allowed about 14-15 points per game.

Of course, that's counting 7.5 of the 9 game stretch and leaving out the second half of the CAR/NE super bowl and the entire 2004 AFCCG, which I considered to be outside of the norm. Some would say that it's cherry picking, and I would agree on some level-- with the point being that in 7.5/9 games, our defense really carried us.

In 83% of our 9 game postseason run, our defense carried us and our offense did "just enough" to get the job done.

I think that we need to go back to being able to score in the early twenties and win games, and hopefully we can do that again through tough defense. In the meantime, yes---I think the offense of 2014 has the capacity to score 21-24 points in the postseason vs. tough defensive competition.

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Actually, it's entirely cherry picking.

This is a classic example of really wanting to believe something and torturing the facts to make them fit what you want to believe.

Since 2007, the offense not defense has been the problem. In 2001 and 2003 your "championchip" defenses had the ability to close out Super Bowls and promptly allowed game tying TD's.

This is the type of reality that tends to get ignored when reality wants to be ignored.

rookBoston said:

Your offense cant score points if your defense cant get off the field on 3rd down. The best thing to happen to our offense is what looks like an athletic, shutdown secondary.

The talent we have on offense this year, centered around Ridley, Vereen, Gronk, Edelman, Thompkins and Amendola is light years ahead of what we had with Antowain Smith, Kevin Faulk, Jermaine Wiggins, Troy Brown, David Patten and David Givens.

More than enough horsepower. Question is just whether this team has that much heart... and we wont know until November or December.

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How exactly did 3rd down make Welker drop a game sealing TD catch?

Health is the only thing that matters over the last few years.

It's hard to win with half of your starters and the best offensive weapon in the NFL not playing.

patsfanincleveland said:

How exactly did 3rd down make Welker drop a game sealing TD catch?

Health is the only thing that matters over the last few years.

It's hard to win with half of your starters and the best offensive weapon in the NFL not playing.

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Best offensive weapon in the NFL? Who is that?

The question isn't about past Patriots' offenses. It's whether this 2014 edition of the Patriots' offense is championship-caliber.

I think the answer is yes.

I think they will score 28+ points per game and be in the top 3 in the league.

I think they have terrific balance. Not just run/pass balance, but also balance in terms of who Brady throws to. They will have the ability to throw long (Dobson), short, inside, and outside. They have players at every skill position who can catch the ball. And they have an elite QB delivering it.

I think the improved defense will aid the offense by giving them the ball more quickly and relieving the pressure.

I think they will be able to create matchup problems for opposing defenses.

They won't be unstoppable. There will be times this year when they are out of sync, when the offense sputters, and we will all get nervous. But at the end of the day, they will score points. Lots of them. Yes, this team has a championship-caliber offense. Certainly it's a good enough unit to win a Super Bowl, if the rest of the team does its job as well.

Our Superbowl losses seemed to be the result of;
1. Offensive line or was it the great NY D-line
2.Terrible secondary.
3. Drops and a miracle catch

The Pats may not have a true #1 WR (although Edelman could be that), they are deep at WR and have a lot of receiving options.

The year the Saints won the Super Bowl, they had quantity over quality at receiver. They didn't have that one stud WR that teams had to game plan for, but they had four or five good receiver that Brees could spread the ball around to. That is how I look at this year's Pats.

I'm never a fan of these "championship caliber" conversations. Did the 2011 Patriots have a championship caliber defense? They were a Welker drop away from being one. How about the 2011 Giants, who allowed nearly as many yards and even more points than the Patriots did? What about the 2003 Patriots offense? Clearly it was championship caliber, even being the primary reason why they beat the Panthers, yet they were a terrible running team and only scored 21.6 ppg.

Did the 2007 Giants have a more championship caliber offense than the 2007 Patriots? If I could guarantee the 2014 Patriots would have as productive an offense as the 2013 Broncos, would anyone really object to that because of what they did in their final game? And if we look at those two examples as evidence that running is more important, why does the top 10 in 2013 ypc only have 4 playoff teams?

Obviously you can't be terrible on offense or defense if you want a shot. But good is good enough so long as the entire team is good enough. Most of this comes down to fans wanting to create after-the-fact story lines and causation when it really is more luck and chance.