A Couple of Things Lost in the Shuffle in the loss to Arizona

[Deus Irae]

So when did the Brandon Lloyd and Julian Edelman become the Pats's two TEs because the complaint was that they were trying to force it into them and not Gronk after Hernandez went down.

The Pats are moving away from the WRs, but so far the focus of the offense has been less on the TEs than expected. Last week, it was the Ridley show. In the passing game they are more of a focus because they are not over relying on Welker like the previous two years, but it isn't all about them. In fact, Lloyd seems to be just as a big of a focus because the Pats are trying to create more chemistry with him and Brady.

The team has moved to a two TE base which is built around Gronk and Hernandez. Even in the run, it's predicated around having those TEs in there to keep defenses honest and to allow Gronk to be essentially another tackle at the end of the O-line. You know this, so you claiming otherwise makes your posts not worth reading. Why would you go down that route and piss away your credibility on the topic?

 

[Rob0729]

The team has moved to a two TE base which is built around Gronk and Hernandez. Even in the run, it's predicated around having those TEs in there to keep defenses honest and to allow Gronk to be essentially another tackle at the end of the O-line. You know this, so you claiming otherwise makes your posts not worth reading.

The team has been in a two TE base before this year. It isn't new to this year.

They are a big part of the offense, but they are not the offense. The Pats have been trying to run a more balanced offense this season. They were in a two TE set all of last year and far more reliant on both those guys going into the season last year.

To say that they are more reliant on the TEs this season is not accurate at this point. The Pats are trying to become what people have been biatching about this team since 2004, a balanced team where they run and pass near equally. I don't know if that is a smart thing or not yet, but it takes the emphasis off of everyone in the passing game except for Gronk who is a monster blocker.

 

[Deus Irae]

The team has been in a two TE base before this year. It isn't new to this year.

They are a big part of the offense, but they are not the offense. The Pats have been trying to run a more balanced offense this season. They were in a two TE set all of last year and far more reliant on both those guys going into the season last year.

To say that they are more reliant on the TEs this season is not accurate at this point. The Pats are trying to become what people have been biatching about this team since 2004, a balanced team where they run and pass near equally. I don't know if that is a smart thing or not yet, but it takes the emphasis off of everyone in the passing game except for Gronk who is a monster blocker.

You're attempting to use the throws to a new receiver as proof when it's nothing of the sort. The notion of balance does not change the point about the team being built around Gronk and Hernandez. Your attempts to change "built around" to "are the offense" as if what's meant is 100% Gronk/Hernandez all the time, are completely disingenuous. There's really no need to continue with this at this point, so I'll just leave it at that.

 

[Rob0729]

You're attempting to use the throws to a new receiver as proof when it's nothing of the sort. The notion of balance does not change the point about the team being built around Gronk and Hernandez. Your attempts to change "built around" to "are the offense" are completely disingenuous. You know that, too. I don't understand why you're so willing to chuck away your credibility, but so be it. There's no need to continue this, since it's not an honest discussion.

They are a huge part of the offense, but this offense is built around Brady. The Pats are trying to be less reliant on them by creating balance. They are trying to spread the ball around and trying to make more of an emphasis on the run. It doesn't happen over night.


You basically want to argue it every way. A few weeks ago, you were killing the Pats for having no depth at WR. Now you are making it sound like they are almost irrelevant and relying on the TEs with no viable back up is stupid (which the Pats have several viable back ups, but are injured at the moment). Which way do you want it.

 

[Deus Irae]

They are a huge part of the offense, but this offense is built around Brady. The Pats are trying to be less reliant on them by creating balance. They are trying to spread the ball around and trying to make more of an emphasis on the run. It doesn't happen over night.


You basically want to argue it every way. A few weeks ago, you were killing the Pats for having no depth at WR. Now you are making it sound like they are almost irrelevant and relying on the TEs with no viable back up is stupid (which the Pats have several viable back ups, but are injured at the moment). Which way do you want it.

Now you're trying to pull the "Brady" card as if it has any meaning when Brady was there under the old "WW-centric" system and the system before that?

'nuff said, i think, and a new low has been reached. We're done here.

 

[AzPatsFan]

You are asking too much. No team devises game plans based on the possibility of players going out of the game. They try to have contingencies, but those are not nearly as focused. There are 11 players on the field and you would have develop and practice contingency plans for at least 4 or 5. Ain't happening. Not enough time in the week especially to practice multiple contingencies. Especially with restricted practice rules in the new CBA, there is not enough time.

Personally, I think I believe in what Jaws said this morning that they are working on things now to make sure they are clicking down the stretch and in the playoffs.

If Jaws said that, he too is seeing what I did, and said. Unlike so many of the yammerheads, Jaws is thoughtful, has been there, and knows the game.

 

[Brady_12]

I don't think you'll get much disagreement: the D did it's job, and it did it well. In addition to the points you raised, it forced two turnovers, including one that should've miraculously set the offense up for the win.

This. I was at the game yesterday and although it was depressing to lose the way we did (especially after the few seconds of elation when Woody ran it in), my thoughts immediately went to how well the D played even after being put in terrible situations. I know it's early but I LOVE this D.

 

[jsull87]

A couple of things lost in the shuffle of yesterday's loss:

• Belichick took away what you do best - People don't realize how impressive it was that the Pats held Fitzgerald to one reception for four yards. The last time Fitzgerald was held to one reception was December of 2010. The last time he was held under 23 yards was December of 2004 (his rookie year). The Pats went into the game with the intention of taking Fitzgerald out of the game and they did it better than any team has in recent history.
• Half of Cards' scoring came on 9 total yards of offense - The Cards scored 20 points and 10 of them came off of nine total yards of offense. The Cards' second field goal was on a drive that started on the Pats' 25 (off of Brady's pick) and ended after three downs on the Pats' 17. The other drive started on the Pats' two yard line after the blocked punt and it took three tries to get in.

I'm interested how much of the Fitz 4 yards was directly due to McCourty... i have been impressed with his start the last 2 games... interesting seeing as we have had a bit more continuity at safety

 

[ausbacker]

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but right now I feel like smacking Matt Light and Robert Gallery for retiring and Brian Waters for holding out.