Tom often times is putting the ball in a place where the only guy who can get is it his receiver who isn't getting much seperation in coverage. Or in the only place he can put it when he's under pressure to get the ball out. Really good receivers, say like Welker, make those catches most of the time. Our young TE's are talented but still inconsistent. They weren't at the beginning of the year, which in hindsight was almost too easy, which is why he continues to go to them. Lately neither is a given. My one overwhelming thought from the outset of this game was they better figure out what Welker wants and give it to him... And they really need a solid 3rd option WR because good defenses are getting pressure with 4 and that is creating coverage issues that demand nearly flawless execution not only from Brady but from his targets. Too many drops and whifs and too few OMG grabs from anyone not named Welker again yesterday. Also too many QB hits and tipped passes and too few yards on the ground that weren't manufactured by a shifty back... I know Dante is a legend and these linemen grade out as quite talented, but something isn't translating and they keep getting owned at the LOS. It was good to see Frick and Frack (Light and Mankins) having a little chuckle on the sidelines though, wouldn't want them to loose their sense of humor and take it too seriously.
It's unfortunate that Vareen can't seem to do a thing besides take up a roster spot. Ditto Chad. And Price is apparently too fragile to make it out of a walkthrough. And of course Edleman who really has to focus on manufacturing yards because at the end of the day neither he or his STmates are particularly special. And that has increasingly included Gostkowski who hasn't been nearly as automatic as the guy he replaced since his injury and his new multi year deal, the kind his predecessor never got... Makes me recall some pundits predicting that the first guy to replace Vinetari probably wouldn't turn out to be the guy who actually replaces him.
Of course in the end it all came down to not being able to make a stop with less than 2 minutes to play...deja vu all over again. That happened even when we had all those core defensive players we miss these days. All of which leaves almost no margin of error for an offense that is increasingly prone to making them. Both young TE's who were so thoroughly lauded out of the gate for their ability to catch anything in their vacinity seem to have developed a case of the yips as the season has progressed and their coverage has tightened. Branch isn't getting open much, maybe too many days spent coaching and acting as Chad's unit support system instead of working on his own game. Chad is just a waste of a roster spot that Price is just too fragile to snatch away from him altogether. Brady is at the point he can barely stand to make eye contact with Chad...I think for fear of reacting the way he did yesterday...
No more bandaid ball. Unfortunately for this season coaching bandaids are all Bill has to mask the deficiencies in this roster on both sides of the ball. We can't move the ball consistently, and we can't consistently stop the other team when they are. You really can't avoid growing pains on an NFL roster, although Bill has seemed determined to try to. We need to grow an offense and a defense that clicks and where depth is just that and veteran leadership does just that. I know Bill hates mistakes, but we're going to need some more young higher ceiling talent that can outgrow mistakes if we are going to win or even seriously make a run at another championship before Brady's time here winds down in frustration for all concerned. And we're going to have to give them some playing time during the growth process because giving it to veteran players with theoretical high floors but little long term upside just isn't cutting it because their floor isn't high enough to be competitive against the better teams.
