Could the Pats be a smashmouth offense this season?

[TP76]

When they line up with a single back in the backfield on 75%+ of their plays --- that's not smashmouth. They will try to run against the opposition's nickel with 3 wideouts.

Redzone O will be more difficult to manage again as a result.

 

[SVN]

Good post. Five RBs and a high-octane passing attack with two good TEs and a HOF WR means you can play to the weakness of the opposing defense. It also means (thinking of a game in February) that you can adjust on the fly to the defensive game plan and change your strategy to blunt theirs.

As for the oline, it's a mish-mash right now and that doesn't bother me because they have some talent. All the turnover and injuries during the preseason has left the line with greater depth (excepting O'C) than it had last year. By the end of the season, with Neal back from PUP, and the new backup veterans schooled in the offense, they'll be better able to deal with injuries.

from what i have seen from the pats in last 7 yrs, i think BB expects his players to play whatever the gameplan maybe and have them adjust instead himself adjusting drastically for a player or set off players. so if a team has bad secodary and even if we had 3rd grade receivers with 5 RB's , he wont be scared to come out and throw the ball. he is anything but conventional...thats why teams say that NE has something new everyweek which is actually untrue. they just try to play each opponent differently

 

[Pats726]

from what i have seen from the pats in last 7 yrs, i think BB expects his players to play whatever the gameplan maybe and have them adjust instead himself adjusting drastically for a player or set off players. so if a team has bad secodary and even if we had 3rd grade receivers with 5 RB's , he wont be scared to come out and throw the ball. he is anything but conventional...thats why teams say that NE has something new everyweek which is actually untrue. they just try to play each opponent differently

I do agree they do gameplan differently for each team...but they also have different wrinkles in the O and D every year...even with different gameplans..nuances maybe..but none the less different..so that last years films mean zero..This year maybe more runnning..making the passing game open up..it's not smashmouth..but closer to a balance..Again that will vary..but it's another weapon to have..03 was a running year with Dillon..with 5 RBs..a similar change

 

[Patjew]

The Pats have a top-5-of-all-time QB and WR, not to mention the best slot WR in the league and RBs and TEs that excel more at catching than smashmouth runs or blocking, respectively. To me that's not a recipe for smashmouth ball.

I think the goal this year will be balance.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

I think were going to be very balenced last yr, before inj to Maroney and Morris.. Faulk is a nice change of pace back, but not a every down back..


Brady should throw for at least 30 td's this yr, Moss will get his,but I agree the running game will be a bigger factor this yr.

 

[jarnhestur]

The reason we struggled in the playoffs last year is because we couldn't run the ball when we had to. So, in that respect, we'll definately run the ball more.

As other posters have said, I think the coaches want the Patriots more balanced, before we lost Morris and the TE's got banged up last year.

It's all about playing to the situation and controlling match ups. If we can run the ball more our passing attack will be that much more effective.

Oh, and the posters who claim we can't run because our O-line isn't good enough seem to forget that what made our passing attack so potent last year was our ability to protect Brady. If our O-line is struggling, that's going to impact the passing game just as much.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

Last year, "Cold Hard Football Facts" ran an article comparing the Pats run game to the SB teams and the other 2007 elite teams. In both cases, the Pats run game compared very, very favorably.

The only reason the Pats looked "unbalanced" was the historic nature of the passing game.

Personally, 5 RB's is probably the next evolution from "feature back" to "two backs". When one considers the shelf life at that position, having five guys that have overlapping yet some distinctive skills makes a ton of sense.

Also, the key is to optimize touches. Does anyone think the the Dolts needed to keep Addai fresh last year?

 

[alvinnf]

I really think we missed Dan Graham last year, he was a great motion blocker, Brady was mor like another T. I wonder if Thomas or Watson could come closer to that role. That would help us run out of the 2x1 more effectively.

 

[PatsFan37]

I really think we missed Dan Graham last year, he was a great motion blocker, Brady was mor like another T. I wonder if Thomas or Watson could come closer to that role. That would help us run out of the 2x1 more effectively.

Good point. IIRC, Thomas was in motion on lots of the offensive plays he was in, and that didn't necessarily signal a run. I think they intend to use Watson and Thomas interchangeably in that role. We see it more with Thomas in preseason because he needs the practice more than Watson. We've also seen them execute a fake wham block.

I do think we're going to see a more interesting and complex inside running game this year, with two mobile TEs, a good FB and plenty of good RBs. When Neal returns to the lineup, the inside blocking can be pretty effective. What we've seen in preseason is so much commotion in the OL interior, it's been horribly ineffective. I strongly believe (and hope) that will change.

 

[aabtec]

If BB decides to keep 5 RBs on this roster I think it has more to do with being a smashmouth type of offense instead of just keeping 5 RBs for depth in case of injury.

I would not be surprised to see Brady throw for a bit less than 4,000 yards and less than 35 TDs this season so that the running game is being more in use and the team is eating up the clock smashmouth style instead of being used up like they were early last season and obviously looked like they were running out of gas after the 12th game because of the frenzied non stop passing offensive display for 3/4 of the year.

This team even with Moss and Welker on the field IMO should look more like the 2003 team than last years - Until about the 3/4 of the way when Brady may start lighting it up much more going into the later weeks of the season to get ready for the playoffs fresher than late last season.

Maroney of course is the key to smashmouth as he needs to keep the ball moving and Jordan,Faulk,Evans and Morris to get most of the tough yards and the OL also is key to opening holes to allow this type of offense as well.

It would be in the best interest of the team to play like this early,not only to keep the defense off the field longer, but to give Brady more time to fully heal from whatever his injury is.

Of course this all will also depend if the OL can handle the task and open holes for these guys

Look for those old days of 17-14 / 23-21 and scores like that down to the wire heart-stoppers,We should see plenty of them back this season - and hoepfully be on the better end of those scores like we were back then

I think those 48-7 scores like last year will be rare,at least until late fall comes around

I think everything depends on the OL. Right now it looks like a mess. Plus I do not have any faith in skippy the OC.

I am hopeful but I would like to the OL knock some people on the fannies.

aabtec

 

[Ring 6]

If BB decides to keep 5 RBs on this roster I think it has more to do with being a smashmouth type of offense instead of just keeping 5 RBs for depth in case of injury.

I would not be surprised to see Brady throw for a bit less than 4,000 yards and less than 35 TDs this season so that the running game is being more in use and the team is eating up the clock smashmouth style instead of being used up like they were early last season and obviously looked like they were running out of gas after the 12th game because of the frenzied non stop passing offensive display for 3/4 of the year.

This team even with Moss and Welker on the field IMO should look more like the 2003 team than last years - Until about the 3/4 of the way when Brady may start lighting it up much more going into the later weeks of the season to get ready for the playoffs fresher than late last season.

Maroney of course is the key to smashmouth as he needs to keep the ball moving and Jordan,Faulk,Evans and Morris to get most of the tough yards and the OL also is key to opening holes to allow this type of offense as well.

It would be in the best interest of the team to play like this early,not only to keep the defense off the field longer, but to give Brady more time to fully heal from whatever his injury is.

Of course this all will also depend if the OL can handle the task and open holes for these guys

Look for those old days of 17-14 / 23-21 and scores like that down to the wire heart-stoppers,We should see plenty of them back this season - and hoepfully be on the better end of those scores like we were back then

I think those 48-7 scores like last year will be rare,at least until late fall comes around

I understand what you are saying but I don't understand why.
If we can win 48-7 we will win 48-7.
Your logic sounds like the offensive strategy would be 'we can score if we throw the ball, but we'd rather run it and not score'. That wll never happen. The run/pass ratio will have one thing in mind, the best way to score points on this drive, also influenced by the best way to score points all day (ie setting things up).
I can see, and I would actually support some more emphasis on the run. That is primarily because my philosophy of offensive football is that what you do best is even more effective if you make them stop what you don't do best. In other words, if throwing is what we do best, and we throw 60 times a game, we will be throwing into a defense overcompensating for the pass. In the same scenario, a 50/50 run/pass ratio will allow us to throw into a defense that is not overcompensating for the pass, but playing both. Example: If Moss OWNS a corner and all we do is throw, that corner will have help on every play. If we run/pass 50/50 that corner is more exposed to have to cover without help.
I just don't agree that offense will be used for any purpose other than scoring points, unless and until we get into a situation where the defense is horrendous and us scoring 48 means they score 48 too.

 

[NYCPatsFan]

I think everything depends on the OL. ...

aabtec

Bingo.

2 more cents: Our two TEs have not been that durable during the last three seasons. If that occurs again this season (praying it doesn't), we would certainly not be anywhere close to a smashmouth offense and instead be one that protects Brady while trying to get the W - by running or throwing or walking or flying. Which is quite fine with me. :snob:

 

[BadMoFo]

I don't think so. We may have several running backs, but we don't have the line to do this.

 

[Kontradiction]

The reason we struggled in the playoffs last year is because we couldn't run the ball when we had to. So, in that respect, we'll definately run the ball more.

As other posters have said, I think the coaches want the Patriots more balanced, before we lost Morris and the TE's got banged up last year.

It's all about playing to the situation and controlling match ups. If we can run the ball more our passing attack will be that much more effective.

Oh, and the posters who claim we can't run because our O-line isn't good enough seem to forget that what made our passing attack so potent last year was our ability to protect Brady. If our O-line is struggling, that's going to impact the passing game just as much.

Why does everybody keep saying this? We ran the ball for over 100 yards v.s. Jacksonville and San Diego. This includes a clock killing, game winning 9 minute drive led by the run. I'd say we ran the ball effectively in the playoffs. We DID abandon the run in the Super Bowl though so if you had said that, you would have had a great point.

 

[alvinnf]

Good point. IIRC, Thomas was in motion on lots of the offensive plays he was in, and that didn't necessarily signal a run. I think they intend to use Watson and Thomas interchangeably in that role. We see it more with Thomas in preseason because he needs the practice more than Watson. We've also seen them execute a fake wham block.

I do think we're going to see a more interesting and complex inside running game this year, with two mobile TEs, a good FB and plenty of good RBs. When Neal returns to the lineup, the inside blocking can be pretty effective. What we've seen in preseason is so much commotion in the OL interior, it's been horribly ineffective. I strongly believe (and hope) that will change.

I would'nt be suprised at all to see them motion Heath Evans into a H back position from 2 backs more often this season, they can set up their protections from his motion or even exploit certain pre snap reads depending on which set they are in.

 

[Deus Irae]

Why does everybody keep saying this? We ran the ball for over 100 yards v.s. Jacksonville and San Diego. This includes a clock killing, game winning 9 minute drive led by the run. I'd say we ran the ball effectively in the playoffs. We DID abandon the run in the Super Bowl though so if you had said that, you would have had a great point.

Exactly. Jacksonville is still trying to stop the offense, as we speak.

 

[Kontradiction]

Exactly. Jacksonville is still trying to stop the offense, as we speak.

They're paying $30 million to try to stop it, from what I've heard.

 

[PatsFan37]

I would'nt be suprised at all to see them motion Heath Evans into a H back position from 2 backs more often this season, they can set up their protections from his motion or even exploit certain pre snap reads depending on which set they are in.

I don't have a football background, so please help me out with what that means. Do you mean if Evans and say, Maroney, are lined up in an I-formation and Evans motions? Where would he go and what would that mean?

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

I don't think the Pats can be a smashmouth offense with Maroney as the lead back. Maroney not the pound it between the tackles into submission type.

However, if Jordan can stay healthy, then I think the Pats could very easily become a smashmouth offense if need be.

In fact, I believe that if Jordan is able to stay healthy that he'll be the best RB on this team when all is said and done.

 

[TheFlyingWedge]

Without Steven Neal, this O-line is pretty limited with run blocking. I think that Bill always wants a balanced unpredictable Offense so they will likely stay committed to the run. Its just looked so pitiful this preseason.