all 22 film shows Brady is not utilizing all of his weapons

Kontradiction · Sep 17, 2014

Danger Zone said:
Nailed it.

..because thats how the Patriots do things -they drop hints and innuendoes to the MEDIA when they want to communicate something of importance to one of their players.

I'm sure this was communicated to Brady as well. If they didn't think the offense needed to spread the ball around, they wouldn't have mentioned it at all. Like I said, I'm not all that worried about this. I think the pass protection issues should eventually be fixed which should make it so that Brady doesn't have to get the ball out of his hand quickly to avoid the oncoming rush.

Ring 6 · Sep 17, 2014

Nunchucks said:
It is fine if Grink/Edelmen are the primary reads and they are getting open and Brady is hitting them with the ball.

The problem is that these other receivers need to be involved because the Patriot WILL play a defense that takes those reads away and those other receivers will have to become the primary read. Thus, it is important for the Patriots to run plays to get other people the ball.

That would apply if 100% of the passes were going to those 2 players, but they aren't.
I have no doubt that the other players know the plays, and when they are the open read know what to do when the ball comes to them. To suggest we should purposely call a play that is bad for the way we are being covered to practice for when someone else defends us differently makes no sense to me.

hwc · Sep 17, 2014

AndyJohnson said:
I'm saying the passing game doesn't suck. I'm saying it had a bad half vs Miami.
Aside from the second half in Miami, Brady is 34/52/336 and the offense scored 50 points in a game and a half.

I agree with you. As long as the defense/special teams account for 2 TDs (scoring one and giving the offense the ball on the 1 to punch in with a dive play), then the offense scoring 16 points a game as they did Sunday is more than sufficient.

I am in favor of a ground n' pound offense, avoid turning the ball over, and relying on the defense. I think the Pats defense has a shot at being good enough to pull that off.

Danger Zone · Sep 17, 2014

KontradictioN said:
I'm sure this was communicated to Brady as well. If they didn't think the offense needed to spread the ball around, they wouldn't have mentioned it at all. Like I said, I'm not all that worried about this. I think the pass protection issues should eventually be fixed which should make it so that Brady doesn't have to get the ball out of his hand quickly to avoid the oncoming rush.

Brady said it first.

Maybe he's calling out McDaniels?

My point is that McDaniels is hardly using the media to call out Brady or drop hints to him. Thats bs. The Patriots are professional about these things.

I agree with you about the pass protection. It obviously it was the gameplan to throw the ball in under 2 seconds because this is what they did for the entire game. Was Brady also at fault for throwing the ball too quickly?

I could very well be wrong, but Im guessing even elite quarterbacks go through about 2 reads in that amount of time, especially when those reads are Edelman and Gronk.

Ring 6 · Sep 17, 2014

hwc said:
I agree with you. As long as the defense/special teams account for 2 TDs (scoring one and giving the offense the ball on the 1 to punch in with a dive play), then the offense scoring 16 points a game as they did Sunday is more than sufficient.

I am in favor of a ground n' pound offense, avoid turning the ball over, and relying on the defense. I think the Pats defense has a shot at being good enough to pull that off.

You simply cannot look at a football game and ignore context and judge an offense as if every game is the same.
The offense blew worse than I remember in the 2nd half in Miami but in the other 3 halves it has been fine, and that includes the second half last week when they protected a lead.

Ring 6 · Sep 17, 2014

Danger Zone said:
Brady said it first.

Maybe he's calling out McDaniels?

My point is that McDaniels is hardly using the media to call out Brady or drop hints to him. Thats bs. The Patriots are professional about these things.

I agree with you, but obviously it was the gameplan to throw the ball in under 2 seconds because this is what they did for the entire game.

I could very well be wrong, but Im guessing even elite quarterbacks go through about 2 reads in that amount of time.

After all these years, shouldn't we know that what the players and coaches say to the media are what they want heard, and are not a discourse in game planning?
Brady said he should spread the ball around because he was asked why some receivers didn't get thrown to. Its the politically correct answer.
Every discussion that has ever been had with BB about offense includes the goal of balance.

hwc · Sep 17, 2014

AndyJohnson said:
You simply cannot look at a football game and ignore context and judge an offense as if every game is the same.
The offense blew worse than I remember in the 2nd half in Miami but in the other 3 halves it has been fine, and that includes the second half last week when they protected a lead.

I don't think the Pats offense against MINN was "fine".

They had one drive resulting in a TD. They settled for field goals twice on drives starting in MINN territory, including a horrendous drive that started on the MINN 31 and lost 4 yards in three plays resulting in a punt from the 35.

They were 4 of 15 on 3rd down efficiency. And 2 of 4 on red zone efficiency.

I did not get the sense that Tom Brady felt the offense was "fine" after the MINN game.

On the plus side, Brady did not get killed and the offense did not turn the ball over with two strip sacks as they had done the prior week.

Deus Irae · Sep 17, 2014

PP2 said:
I would say that in fact, he's calling Brady out. By saying "the offense has to do a better job of spreading the ball around in the passing game," he is dropping a big hint, as there's only one player whose job it is to "spread the ball around."

Then you're reading "a" to equal "not a":

“I have to do a better job to create a little more balance on our team offensively with our personnel, our play-calling, our plays and so forth. Because we have a lot of good players. We have to be more effective,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s a lack of communication or a lack of being on the same page,” offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said Tuesday. “First of all, we only threw the ball 21 times or whatever it was the other day. And many of those were in two-receiver type settings or came out quick in three-step drops, and a lot of times the coverage dictates where the ball goes.

“I don’t think it was a case of Tom [Brady] misreading the coverage or looking even at a specific direction. We have all our guys in the pattern, and Tom is capable of reading the coverage out and throwing it to the right guy, and he does a great job of that. Sometimes that means the ball is going to go certain places more than others, and there is always a place to start with your read. And sometimes, if the guy happens to be open right away, then you don’t need to go any further.

Either McDaniels is lying to cover for Brady, or Brady was not an issue.

BradyFTW! · Sep 17, 2014

hwc said:
I don't think the Pats offense against MINN was "fine".

They had one drive resulting in a TD. They settled for field goals twice on drives starting in MINN territory, including a horrendous drive that started on the MINN 31 and lost 4 yards in three plays resulting in a punt from the 35.

They were 4 of 15 on 3rd down efficiency. And 2 of 4 on red zone efficiency.

I did not get the sense that Tom Brady felt the offense was "fine" after the MINN game.

On the plus side, Brady did not get killed and the offense did not turn the ball over with two strip sacks as they had done the prior week.

For the duration of the second half, they ran the ball a ton (using 2TE formations and LaFell frequently as a blocker) to shorten the game and protect their lead. When you're sitting on a big lead against a crappy offense, that's what you do. In the context of what they were trying to accomplish, the second half offense was absolutely fine, and the first half offenses did reasonably well after getting off to a rocky start.

They weren't great, but they weren't anywhere near bad enough for me to be concerned. Amendola and Devey were the relative black sheep, but if that continues to be the case either can pretty easily be replaced.

As far as this whole "Brady is missing his receivers/isn't spreading the ball around" stuff, it's all nonsense. He's throwing to open receivers. I'll be concerned when he throws to covered receivers while someone else is open, which to date he hasn't been doing.

Kontradiction · Sep 17, 2014

Danger Zone said:
Brady said it first.

Maybe he's calling out McDaniels?

My point is that McDaniels is hardly using the media to call out Brady or drop hints to him. Thats bs. The Patriots are professional about these things.

I agree with you about the pass protection. It obviously it was the gameplan to throw the ball in under 2 seconds because this is what they did for the entire game. Was Brady also at fault for throwing the ball too quickly?

I could very well be wrong, but Im guessing even elite quarterbacks go through about 2 reads in that amount of time, especially when those reads are Edelman and Gronk.

I don't think this situation was anybody calling anybody else out, much less through the media. They may have communicated to Brady that they would like the ball spread around a bit more going forward just like they probably communicated it to the entire offense in meetings. The bottom line is that if you don't have time to go through reads 3-5 in your progression, you simply cannot do it. As I said earlier, I'm sure we'll see the offense stop leaning on Gronk and Edelman as much as it has when Dobson gets up to speed and the pass protection sorts itself out.

patsfanincleveland · Sep 17, 2014

AndyJohnson said:
Wasnt Brady 10/11 in the first half? With a big lead where he threw 11 passes in the second half vs 17 runs with 6 of the 11 passes on 3rd or 4th down, while playing it safe protecting a lead, why is it again that there is some reason to find something to criticize Brady about?

Exactly

Besides, outside of the continual penalty parade....did any drive really get stopped? Sunday was actually a great display of quality situational football.

People need to stop making judgments before Gronk is up to speed.

PP2 · Sep 17, 2014

Deus Irae said:
Then you're reading "a" to equal "not a":

Either McDaniels is lying to cover for Brady, or Brady was not an issue.

You seem to have left out the key portion of what McDaniels said (in the next paragraph):

“We always will try to be balanced and distribute the ball to all of our skills players. We feel like we have capable tight ends, capable receivers, capable backs. And it never is our intention to go into the game and say only throw the ball to one or two guys in a particular situation.”

Also from 9/15:

Brady acknowledged that he needs to get wide receivers Danny Amendola and Brandon LaFell and tight end Tim Wright more involved in the offense, but put the blame on himself for not distributing the ball to them.

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-england...768245/so-far-brady-only-has-eyes-for-edelman

Don't think there is a coverup or lying going on, just McD dropping a hint to drive home the point.

Sfpat · Sep 17, 2014

I personally put the blame for my FF loss squarely on the shoulders of Brady as he was unable to get multiple TDs each for Vereen and Gronk. If this continues, it may be time to get a QB who understand the importance of my FF team.

naF staP · Sep 17, 2014

Lame article. All would be risky throws to other receivers with the exception of 1, maybe 2. But then there are so many other factors involved. Plus I can almost understand why you pass up throwing to Hands of Stone Lafell. Guy can't seem to catch. You gotta trust those receivers and really the only ones I trust are Edelman and Gronk. I don't even trust Amendola at this point. Get this team some receivers!!

Rob0729 · Sep 17, 2014

It is funny how much people are going overboard with the offense thing. The first half of the first game, half the media were gush about the embarrassment of receiving options Brady has this year. By the end of the game, people were talking about what is wrong with the offense.

This week, the Pats focused on running the ball and a more game management offense with a sizeable lead most of the second half where Brady only threw 22 times and now people are talking about Brady's demeanor at the press conference (the new Brady's sideline demeanor) and how Brady locked in on his binkies.

People are already ready to bury LaFell, Dobson, and Wright as busts.

The Pats have played two games. One game the offense was great one half awful the other one. The other game, the offense was decent playing more of a game managing offense. The offense obviously needs to get better, but the media is going way overboard with all the problems with it.

Kontradiction · Sep 17, 2014

naF staP said:
Lame article. All would be risky throws to other receivers with the exception of 1, maybe 2. But then there are so many other factors involved. Plus I can almost understand why you pass up throwing to Hands of Stone Lafell. Guy can't seem to catch. You gotta trust those receivers and really the only ones I trust are Edelman and Gronk. I don't even trust Amendola at this point. Get this team some receivers!!

The article is not particularly strong, but the essential premise behind it is correct. The air attack is running primarily through Edelman and Gronk right now (mostly Edelman because Gronk is still finding his sea legs). That will need to change in the future or it will be rather easy to shut this team's passing attack down.

Kontradiction · Sep 17, 2014

Rob0729 said:
It is funny how much people are going overboard with the offense thing. The first half of the first game, half the media were gush about the embarrassment of receiving options Brady has this year. By the end of the game, people were talking about what is wrong with the offense.

This week, the Pats focused on running the ball and a more game management offense with a sizeable lead most of the second half where Brady only threw 22 times and now people are talking about Brady's demeanor at the press conference (the new Brady's sideline demeanor) and how Brady locked in on his binkies.

People are already ready to bury LaFell, Dobson, and Wright as busts.

The Pats have played two games. One game the offense was great one half awful the other one. The other game, the offense was decent playing more of a game managing offense. The offense obviously needs to get better, but the media is going way overboard with all the problems with it.

I'm on record as saying I think it will be fixed by the end of the year. Dobson will eventually round into football shape and get more comfortable, as will Wright, and LaFell will find his way. I think the biggest impediment to the passing attack is Brady's comfort level with the OL and his ability to trust them to hold up in pass protection. His throws were coming out in less than 2 seconds this past Sunday which indicates that the team knew they had to help out the OL with the quick passing game. As the OL gets solidified throughout the season, it should help Brady look toward other options when passing.

mgteich · Sep 17, 2014

KontradictioN said:
I'm on record as saying I think it will be fixed by the end of the year. Dobson will eventually round into football shape and get more comfortable, as will Wright, and LaFell will find his way. I think the biggest impediment to the passing attack is Brady's comfort level with the OL and his ability to trust them to hold up in pass protection. His throws were coming out in less than 2 seconds this past Sunday which indicates that the team knew they had to help out the OL with the quick passing game. As the OL gets solidified throughout the season, it should help Brady look toward other options when passing.

You bring up a major concern. Brady needs to be comfortable with his protection. To me, this includes the OL and those responsible for picking up a blitzer. It is not enough for the receivers to run reasonable routes if Brady only feels that he has time for the 1st or 2nd option in the progression. Brady feeling that he must release within 2 seconds greatly limits the passing game.

Deus Irae · Sep 17, 2014

PP2 said:
You seem to have left out the key portion of what McDaniels said (in the next paragraph):

Also from 9/15:

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-england...768245/so-far-brady-only-has-eyes-for-edelman

Don't think there is a coverup or lying going on, just McD dropping a hint to drive home the point.

That's not a key portion. It's a statement about overall game plan, as opposed to implementation. And Brady's comment is something we'd expect him to say. As I said, you're trying to say "a" = "not a".

Either McDaniels is lying to cover for Brady, or Brady wasn't a problem. Either is possible, but it's one or the other, not both.

As Tim Wright put it:

Wright said whether he is targeted is not his call to make, but rather a product of Brady’s decision-making and the game plan.

So let's revisit the earlier statement:

I don’t think it was a case of Tom [Brady] misreading the coverage or looking even at a specific direction. We have all our guys in the pattern, and Tom is capable of reading the coverage out and throwing it to the right guy, and he does a great job of that. Sometimes that means the ball is going to go certain places more than others, and there is always a place to start with your read.

Brady's decisionmaking - I don’t think it was a case of Tom [Brady] misreading the coverage or looking even at a specific direction.

Are you saying that Brady's being called out for reading the right coverage, going through the right progressions, and knowingly throwing to his favorites even if it's the wrong move?

SalemPats · Sep 17, 2014

KontradictioN said:
The article is not particularly strong, but the essential premise behind it is correct. The air attack is running primarily through Edelman and Gronk right now (mostly Edelman because Gronk is still finding his sea legs). That will need to change in the future or it will be rather easy to shut this team's passing attack down.

Gronk/Edelman/Vereen are the three best options for Brady. That will stay that way, what we need is a Deion Branch type who can play on the outside and be a possession guy. We all want a Randy Moss back, but realistically we just need someone to get 4-6 receptions a game outside of the big 3 and can get the physical type of catches (curls, outs, etc...)

all 22 film shows Brady is not utilizing all of his weapons

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