uh just a few seasons ago we were running double-tripple TE sets and pounding the rock with Dillon. The Pats adapt their system to the personel they have.
Uh, little bit of an oversimplification of what I said.
First, New England was a run first team before Dillon showed up. You may want to review the 2001 season and verify your understanding of the offense. You may recall a running back by the name of Antowain Smith who rushed for 1000+ yards that season and left the year Dillon came here. If you think, other than last season's results there have been monster changes in offensive philosophies with Brady, take the time to review his career stats and look at the yardage as every year is pretty much the same +/- 400 yards.
Second, Dillon was acquired in the offseason and added ability to the running game. If he represents a major change over previous seasons other than greater ability, long-time fans may beg to differ with your conclusion. New England under Belichick has been all about clock control prior to last year, and the running game and short passing game supports that goal.
Third, as to your 3 TE set theory, the Patriots had Graham as primarily a blocker (why he went to Denver - to catch passes) and Watson as a receiver (and yes, there were other TEs on the roster). The Patriots under Belichick have a reputation for picking TEs early (that means prior to Dillon), and use them as they see fit. If you can add all the TE receptions up and find a season where that was most of the pass offense or at a level comparable to the days Ben Coates, or find greater or fewer numbers of TEs on the roster with the acquisition of Dillon, I will accept that was something more than a play in a multitude of potential offensive plays. Otherwise, the fact they could run such a play does not make it the identity of the offense.
The system is designed based on personnel available, and that is an evolutionary process. Individual personnel skill sets may result in offensive scheme tendencies, but this evolution takes a heck of a lot longer than a season to build, and certainly longer than a week. It took a quarterback of Brady's skill and a lot of offseason work to make the receiving corps work at the level it did last year. Culpepper never had Brady's reputation as a field general, and never will. Bringing in a quarterback is even more difficult as you do not simply "go" from pocket passing to "run and shoot." Blocking schemes change, required lineman capabilities change, receiver reactions change and then you have to deal with the basic chemistry issues than any new quarterback will deal with on a new team. You do not plug a radically different quarterback into an established offense and say "adapt." That is a complete revamp of an offense, and I do not see the Pats losing Brady's supporting cast during his 12 months away from the game to add the personnel necessary to support a "has been." It is called bad fit, and given the fact Culpepper was victimized by defenses in the division when playing for Miami and his history of fumbling the ball when he had skills, I doubt Belichick shares your enthusiasm.
