Has the FO Given Brady Enough Weapons?

[OhExaulted1]

With Gronk being held back, Hoo-man having setbacks, Dobson PU'ed for now, Amendola's injury track record and besides Julian who's had ONE great injury free season, Lafell who looks like he could be solid but not spectacular it's a bunch of relatively unprovens. How do you feel about this receiving core?

Never mind this great looking defense for a second. Let's take a look at the overall O.

RB-Fumble prone Ridley, injury prone Vereen, unproven 4th round pick White and perennial bubble guy Bolden.

OT-Solder and Vollmer are monsters, no doubt. But the latter has been injury prone. No denying that. Cannon is OK as a backup. Flemming is a 6th round ROOKIE. I like his potential, but an injury to SeaBass disrupts the protection vastly.

Interior OL-Who's at Center is like who's on first at this point. Guard with Mankins is solid, but the other? Sketchy at best right now.

I like our defense, but Tom can't do this alone. Is anyone else concerned about our offense, or is it all just pre-season sunshine, buttercups and unicorns right now?

 

[Joker]

it's the 2014 season right on the horizon and these little babies should be ready to bawk by opening day...

 

[varjao]

I see this way

- The market for WR was not very attractive neither for TE's, from the FA's I wanted Nicks and Scott Chandler, I don't know if the FO had any interest in both of them. We retained Edelman though. Lafell is an okay signing for me, not much expectations.

- O-line: Huge need, they opted to do it via draft, and I support that. Mack was out of our price range.

- D-line: I wanted really bad another stud DE to pair with Chandler, but the market was hot for DE's and they evaporated in the first couple days of FA. There was a tough decision related to how to proceed regarding Wilfork. As of now it looks like BB nailed. The Easley pick is questionable for healthy reasons but if pans out, it will address another huge need.

- Defense: We lost our best DB in Talib and replaced with not only the best player available on the market but also with another great player on Browner. BB decided to pull the trigger in a new secondary that will have an impact and make everyone around better.

So the offense in fact is far from being one of the tops in the league, Brady will have to do magic again, but they choose to help him giving a defense that will win some games. I expect a lot less comebacks this season comparing to 2013.

If I could change something I would never draft a QB with that 2nd round pick. I would draft a player capable of being a starter from day one. At least in theory. Not necessarily a WR.

 

[Hael]

Last year.. The fact of the matter was that we were playing with a 2nd choice rb, our pretty damn good 3rd down back was injured for most of the year, our starting rt was gone, our 2nd receiver was injured and never the same, our 3rd/4th rookie wrs were thrust into starting roles and also succumbed to injury. Our primary weapon (and basically only good TE) was lost. And we had subpar years from our starting center and right guard.

Despite all of that, we were scoring 30+ points relatively frequently by the end of the year, on all but the elite defenses.

This year we have an almost healthy squad finally. We have 2 promising wr's who are making the sophomore leap and should be more than adequate 3rd or even 2nd options as wr. Hopefully our primary rb plays like it, and we have health all around.

Yes, we don't really have a true number 1 wr, and no we won't be the Broncos, but I think if healthy we have more than enough to have a pretty darn good O.

 

[PATS16N0]

You'll feel better about it all after the first Gronk spike.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Good RB group. Lots of depth and a good amount of experience.

Gronk

Dobson Edelman DA KT

And TFB

Not worried

 

[Sciz]

We saw just about the worst case scenario (outside of a Brady injury) on offense last year. They were the #3 offense in the NFL, the #2 seed in the AFC, probably the #4 team in the NFL overall, and I think they reach the Super Bowl if you put the AFCCG offense on the field with the defense they have today.

 

[BelichickFan]

Not this again. We want to win, Brady wants to win. It's not about scoring the most points. We have put a ton into the defense, that's the best weapon you can give Brady to win games so he doesn't have to score 40 points every game. Look at all the high draft picks on defense. Revis. Browner as free agents. If your goal is to win games they're the best weapon we can give him.

 

[OhExaulted1]

Not this again. We want to win, Brady wants to win. It's not about scoring the most points. We have put a ton into the defense, that's the best weapon you can give Brady to win games so he doesn't have to score 40 points every game. Look at all the high draft picks on defense. Revis. Browner as free agents. If your goal is to win games they're the best weapon we can give him.

It's not about scoring 40 a game, it's how many times will Brady be forced to perform a miracle in the end. We all know he can do it, provided he's not dropped on the turf 40 times or his receivers drop the second most passes again.

It can't happen like that again and expect another piece of hardware in the trophy room. I think it's a legitimate concern.

 

[OhExaulted1]

it's the 2014 season right on the horizon and these little babies should be ready to bawk by opening day...

Gawd I hope so Joker. I'm no chicken little, but reality tells me to pay attention. Besides Tom, this offense looks a little shaky. Love our D.

 

[BelichickFan]

It's not about scoring 40 a game, it's how many times will Brady be forced to perform a miracle in the end. We all know he can do it, provided he's not dropped on the turf 40 times or his receivers drop the second most passes again.

That was my point. A lot has been put into this weapon named DEFENSE so we shouldn't need the miracle. If having Andre Johnson would please you at the expense of Darrelle Revis then there's your weapon.

 

[OhExaulted1]

That was my point. A lot has been put into this weapon named DEFENSE so we shouldn't need the miracle. If having Andre Johnson would please you at the expense of Darrelle Revis then there's your weapon.

No, Johnson's a pipe dream (and was really never one of mine-33 yr old WR and NOT a Randy Moss ome of kind). I'm hoping for health and consistency on the other side of the ball.

The defense looks great, no doubt. I think really I'd like to hear this offense start outplaying the defense in some of these practices. I don't have that 19-0 butterflies were going to blow teams out or set the record for least points allowed feeling quite yet.

I need to see more from this offense besides Brady.

 

[PatsBoy12]

They're attempting to give him him two ingredients he had during the championship years - a running game and a stout defense. Yeah, they've given him enough weapons. Rodney Harrison seems to think it's SB or bust for this squad (I'll post the link later if necessary). I am feeling that buzz about this team. Barring injuries, I really think this squad is built to win now. It may take a few games for the O to round into form but again, if health stays on the high end, then there is no reason for this team to fail.

 

[PATS16N0]

People forget how unstoppable Brady to Gronk is. If Brady and Gronk are healthy we're one of the scariest offenses in the National Football League. I think it really all hinges on that.

In 2012 we were just shy of surpassing the 2010 Packers as the second highest scoring team of all time. All of those guys are gone but I think we have comparable talent taking over for them. Might not have Hernandez skill set but we have new skill sets in Thompkins and Dobson and Amendola.

It all just hinges on Gronk's health. If Gronk is on the field, our offense is going to be a dominant force. #1 in the league is very possible, if not likely, if we avoid the injury bug.

If you're worried about it, I think you just miss #87.

I see us back to our old high scoring ways, and this time with a defense.

 

[PatsBoy12]

The offense was 3rd in scoring last season. Just think about that with everything the offense went through.

 

[supafly]

I think we all see concerns, OE1, but those concerns are the same (not specifically) for many or most of the teams around the NFL. Everyone is going to have positions where they are shaky or unproven.

With all due respect, I think you may be looking at things with a bit of pessimism--at least in your OP anyway. I doubt you feel that pessimistic when push comes to shove, so don't let the positions of concern get you down.

The RB and OL situations should actually be much better than a lot of the other teams, and let's remember that our SB winning teams from the period of '01 through '04 weren't scoring anything near the amount of points that we're used to lately. It may be something of a return to different circumstances, but I'll take 23-24 ppg on offense---especially if we're only giving up 17.

Look at it this way, the WR situation should certainly be improved upon from last year, and if Gronk and Vereen are healthy and able to contribute as well, we will be just fine. I'm guessing more than fine.

 

[MrNathanDrake]

Brady has an elite weapon at TE if Gronk can stay healthy.

Edelman, Amendola, Dobson, Thompkins, Boyce, LaFell

Vereen, Ridley, J.White, Bolden


The key is Gronk's health. We can be a dominant offense with Gronk, but just mediocre without him.

 

[Tunescribe]

Gawd I hope so Joker. I'm no chicken little, but reality tells me to pay attention. Besides Tom, this offense looks a little shaky.

Hall of fame quarterback. Solid veteran offensive line. Versatile, deep corps of healthy young running backs. All-veteran wide receiver corps. All-pro tight end ... If you think this offense looks "shaky," check your car's suspension and rotate your tires.

 

[DarrylS]

The greatest weapon the Brady has received is a vastly improved defense... now when he trots off the field he can be reasonably confident that the D will do their job. All of the pressure will not be on him..

The offense is essentially the same as it was last year with the addition of some depth, this team was 3rd in scoring last year..

 

[AzorianPats]

Yes we do have enough weapons.

Are they elite? Besides Gronk, probably not, but they are good. Edelman/Amendola are good/great slot guys, and that's Brady's bread and butter. Lafell had a solid career, and let's hope Dobson/Tompkins take it to another level year 2.

I love Ridley/Vereen duo, and hearing White been impressing in camp leaves me optimistic. I also think we did a great job drafting OLinemen this year.

If there is a concern with the offense, I'd say it's maybe the C position and TE2.