How the Patriots offense will change

With Edelman now out along with Lewis how will the Patriots offense change?

I think it is more than just "someone needs to step up". I think it is going to cause a lot of changes to how the Patriots run their offense over the rest of the regular season. Here are the changes I think are made

#1 Blocking to replace Edelman - There is more than one solution to a problem. Obviously Amendola, Gronk & Lafell's loads will go up and other skill players will be asked to do more. However I think an even stronger possibility than putting Dobson on the field is putting another blocker on the field. If you don't have a skill player really worth putting out there then don't do it that much. I think we will try to add an extra OL man in more to set Gronk free and to find Brady a little extra time to find his top 3 targets. Better to have 2.5 seconds with them than 2 seconds when you add in a Dobson or Martin or Chandler much of the time IMO.

#2 Scheme change... More is more - The Patriots have done the surgical short passing offense very well this year but that will have to change some now IMO. The fact is without Edelman is will be harder to put drives of 10+ plays together. He was your best chain mover and most trusted 3rd down converter. I think the Patriots will look for bigger chunks more often. Though it is riskier I just don't think they have much of a choice. The Patriots need to look for more of those bigger 20-30 yard chunk plays to get scores. Luckily they have reasonably good personnel to do this in Gronk and Lafell who both go deep reasonably well. Also if they do add in an extra blocker they will probably have more time to try it.

#3 Run the ball - I am not one to say this often as I don't generally believe running tends to do much for you most games. However I think expect Gronk, Amendola and Lafell to hold up to many 50 attempts games with lots of targets and hits is not the best idea. The Patriots need to run the ball as long as it not being completely stuffed. Also their OL is more built for it anyway right now. IT will shorten games and give you less offensive plays which is probably for the best right now. If the run is completely shut down then you have no choice but to get away from it but otherwise they should commit to 20-25 carries a game unless you need to score for sure.

#4 Pass more to RBs - The Patriots don't have Lewis but their RBs have shown me they are pretty sure handed. Bolden with a big catch last week. Blount/White going 3/3 for 16 yards. Though the YAC won't be their as much as long as the RBs can catch and get you a successful down they should look to it. I especailly think they need to pass to Blount a bit more often. He should be in their more anyway as a pass blocker and showing our commitment to running a bit more (like they did vs the Giants). As long as he catches the ball and gets you 5-6 which he seems to why not go to it more if they leave him open in the flat.

#5 Dobson - This is my pick for the main WR replacement for Edelman for a lot of reasons. He is the most proven here of all the guys. More snaps with Brady than Chandler/Martin and he is also a deep option which ties into what one of my other predictions here. I think they need to go for bigger chunks of yards and Dobson certainly has the tools to do this. Time to throw him out there and either he proves he needs to be off this team or earns a spot for next year. He does not need a ton of catches but he needs to make the ones that are there to make in the intermediate to deep parts of the field.

Martin is a logical choice. Before he got hurt he showed a lot as far as clicking with Brady already. Made some nice plays. He's got good quickness and speed and decent enough hands. Reminds me of Branch/Edelman, and he's about Edelman's size at 5'11" 195.

scott99 said:

Martin is a logical choice. Before he got hurt he showed a lot as far as clicking with Brady already. Made some nice plays. He's got good quickness and speed and decent enough hands. Reminds me of Branch/Edelman, and he's about Edelman's size at 5'11" 195.

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I thought of Martin and while of course he will see some plays I just think he goes back to the short passing game which you won't be able to sustain for long drives as much.

You could be right and we will need to wait and see what they do but these are my thoughts and predictions of the best solutions.

I hope martin gets a shot in the slot. He has athletic ability. Just a question if he can pick up the offense and get open.

I think it's gonna be Martin when he comes backs. His first 3 weeks here Brady was getting a rapport with him.

Patriots Tom Brady 13-yard touchdown pass to Keshawn Martin - NFL Videos

Patriots Tom Brady finds Keshawn Martin for 16 yards - NFL Videos

Patriots Tom Brady hits Keshawn Martin deep for 39 yards - NFL Videos

It all comes down to the OL for the Pats right now. Brady's been uncomfortable the last two weeks, with or without Edelman.

Get that OL healthier (enough for some rotation) and get back Vollmer, most of all, and give brady his pocket. At that point, with Gronk, Amendola, Lafell, Dobson and Chandler, we're okay.

All comes down to the OL for the next few weeks, imo.

I think the team made it pretty clear that they were preferring Martin over Dobson before the former got injured. If both are healthy, I would expect Martin out there. He's been the more reliable route runner of the two and Brady was already looking his way.

PatriotsPimp136 said:

. Just a question if he can pick up the offense and get open.

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Clearly he was already picking up the offense the 1st 3 weeks he was here.

I think it will vary and depend some on who they are facing.

the Bills don't match up well against the pats offense even without Edelman.....would be nice to have one of the OT's come back. Dobson played well in the first meeting

the Broncos will be all about their defense, but it won't matter if their offense can't do anything

the Eagles and Texans and Titans should not be a problem

if we are at 14 and 0 and have HFA locked up, the focus should turn to getting healthy, getting bodies ready for the playoffs....I don't give a crap about an undefeated season.....honestly, I'd prefer that they lose a game .... I don't like having that monkey on my back......winning the SB is more important

It took LaFell several games after the season opener last year to start playing at a high level. I expect him to get back to that same level after a couple more games. That will help.

I like what I've seen of Martin so far, and I think he'll be a key contributor going forward.

scott99 said:

Martin is a logical choice. Before he got hurt he showed a lot as far as clicking with Brady already. Made some nice plays. He's got good quickness and speed and decent enough hands. Reminds me of Branch/Edelman, and he's about Edelman's size at 5'11" 195.

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Agreed.
However also up for consideration is HAAaapaah!
Chris Harper is 5'11" and maybe 180 Lbs wet and is a slot receiver.

This is a great opportunity for one of these guys to become NFL receivers.

Martin 1st choice because no change to the 53 needed.

We should... bring back Randy Moss ???

Not funny

TBH, I don't anticipate much in the way of wholesale change. I think the team will take the long view and use Martin as more or less as a placeholder until Edelman's return.

Sucks not having Lewis, but if Edelman is back in the groove come playoff time, we basically have the same offense as last year's SB team (minus Vereen).

FourierSeries said:

It took LaFell several games after the season opener last year to start playing at a high level. I expect him to get back to that same level after a couple more games. That will help.

I like what I've seen of Martin so far, and I think he'll be a key contributor going forward.

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I'm not sure how much they will change but how they react to defenses playing a JE-less Pats offense.

Teams are going to clamp down on Gronk like we have never seen (even I'm not sure about that as the guy is double teamed almost every play).

They may even bracket LaFell now or put their CB1 on him...

DA, Martin and Dobson MUST step up and make defenses pay.

Too bad Brady underthrew Dobson on that 4th quarter drive. He was three + steps past the defenders on that play. I'd like to see him integrated into the offense more.

Is BB clairvoyant? It seems like he always trades for someone who is a long shot to play but then becomes an essential cog in the wheel. Did we really think we needed another receiver when he snagged Martin?

PatriotsPimp136 said:

I hope martin gets a shot in the slot.

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That's Amendola's spot, that won't change. Martin will likely get a chance at the versatile inside/outside role of Edelman (who is not the slot receiver) if his hamstring allows.

Love Martin. Seems to catch those passes that others drop.

I liked what I saw from Martin before he got hurt. Seems like a Branch/Edelman type, although I'm sure it is too soon to be making those comparisons. I also think this is Dobson's time to shine and final opportunity to do so. If not now then he is gone after the season. He should have more opportunities and would be the best option to step up and take over some WR production. He would have had a big play against the Giants if he wasn't under thrown.