If this is truly a championship caliber team

[SHOWTIME15]

Think our O will develop some new wrinkles... James White and Dion Lewis may be utilized more. Less focus on Bennett until he recovers from his Ankle Injury..

There are lot of mix and match pieces in this Offense..

This team can be championship quality, but they need to get more in sync than they have the past two games... particularly on offense. Hopefully Brady's knee is more manageable..

I think the offense will okay. An offense with Edelman, amendola, mitchell, bennett, lewis, hogan and blount can put up points. If anything this injury forces brady to distribute the ball around more.

 

[50-yard-line]

Well, except the Browns. And maybe the Niners.

Dolphins are having a good year (for them) and are in hot contention for a playoff berth...they were two yards away from a tie with the Niners, and the Niners outplayed them in Miami!

 

[PatsBoy12]

This team should remain fine offensively, especially if they get HFA.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

This team should remain fine offensively, especially if they get HFA.

I'd he much more comfortable with gronk's injury if the defense were better. This team has lost chandler jones, collins and now gronk since last year...

 

[fightingirish595]

I think we are going to need to run the football

 

[Ring 6]

I'd he much more comfortable with gronk's injury if the defense were better. This team has lost chandler jones, collins and now gronk since last year...

And they have added Bennett, Lewis, Hogan, Mitchell, Thuney, Solder, Blount, a healthy version of Cannon, Long, McLellin, Van Noy, Rowe, Valentine.

There is no question at all in my mind that the offense without Gronk right now is miles better than it was in December and January of last year.
And the defense has played better in the first 11 games this year than it did last year.

 

[LightSkinSmurf]

If this is truly a championship team they can overcome this injury. Yes, sometimes too many injuries pile up and it's too much to overcome. But if this offenses success relies solely on one player, than it's simply an overrated offense. (With the exception of Tom brady,QBs are an exception) I think the talent is still obviously there for this team to hoist the trophy. Brady and Belichick are the greatest equalizers this sport has ever seen (in terms of players and coaches

I can't say I agree with this at all. Gronk is THAT important and GREAT of a player that I think you can very reasonably say that we were a championship team before, and not now. You say brady is the exception, I put gronk in the same category. I think he is that important to the offense and this team.

The only thing I agree with is we COULD still win the SB... But losing a player of gronks magnitude is certainly enough to make a team that WAS good enough before to get it done, not good enough now. This isn't another "next man up" situation. We lost a very very important part of this team that will not be replaced.

 

[sb1]

The Patriots went 3-1 without Brady. I see no reason to think losing Gronk has torpedoed the season, at least from a championship contending perspective.

 

[SVN]

The offense will somehow adjust. Will miss the quick strike big play ability with the seam routes etc but they will. Unfortunately we dont have big playmakers on defense who you can say can change the game around. Raiders for e.g have an avg defense too but you need to account for mack- the defensive player of this month. He can change the around. We have to on the other hand rely on chris long and nink and butler. Good players but not exactly transcendent defensive players. That is what will be their issue in the playoffs like in 2012 vs the ravens in the AFCCG.

 

[Brick27]

Big thing I hope for is just consistently with personell the rest of the way. There's been a lot of moving parts with Gronk, Brady, Lewis being in and out, and each week has been different than the previous week. Absolutely blows losing Gronk, but I think if this group they're working with are healthy (knock on wood) and McDaniels/Bill are able to get a more complete grasp on how to best implement each player, that continuity will make up some of the loss of Gronk.

 

[IllegalContact]

as long as they're playing, I'm going to keep watching

at this point, as BB has said before "we can't worry about who's not here"

 

[Ring 6]

Big thing I hope for is just consistently with personell the rest of the way. There's been a lot of moving parts with Gronk, Brady, Lewis being in and out, and each week has been different than the previous week. Absolutely blows losing Gronk, but I think if this group they're working with are healthy (knock on wood) and McDaniels/Bill are able to get a more complete grasp on how to best implement each player, that continuity will make up some of the loss of Gronk.

I think you need a good run of 3-4 weeks in December with the same groupings playing and both sides of the ball peaking and that gets you all the continuity you need.

Some say this team has a schedule and is in a division that cod get them to the afccg in a blink without ever enduring any adversity.

Well between Brady's injustice, having to play a 3rd struggle rookie 21/2 of the games that are stolen from him, sheard, Collins, gronk and the idiot media spewing gloom and doom about a 9-2 team, they have found their adversity.
Beat up in Baltimore and Denver and this team will be ripe for a run.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

You don't know if a team is "championship caliber" until and unless it wins a championship.

It's a different team without Gronkowski. We really can't pretend that he's "just another player" where we can say "next man up." There are those who would make the case for him as the best TE ever if he can put in a few more years. You just don't plug someone else in his place and pretend that everything's going to be fine, no matter how great BB and TB are.

Personally, I'm just taking it one game at a time. I'm not even assuming that the LA game is in the W column until it is. Then, a big test against Baltimore and another big test on the road on a short week in Denver.

 

[Geezer Butler]

They've managed to win every game Gronk missed so far this season so there is room for optimism.

If we can see a defense that resembles what we saw at the end of that Jets game going forward (more turnovers please) then there is no team in the league this year that they don't belong on the field with.

 

[borg]

We are fine, we almost won the Super Bowl in 06 with Brady throwing to who and who?

Can a team "almost win a Super Bowl in 06 " if that team wasn't in the '06 Super Bowl?

 

[Brick27]

If the Pats can make the playoffs and win their last game, you've got to like their chances.

 

[aluminum seats]

Can a team "almost win a Super Bowl in 06 " if that team wasn't in the '06 Super Bowl?

They were a 3rd and short from playing the Bears in the Super Bowl...so yes.

 

[aluminum seats]

It can be if...

1. The defense tightens up in key areas.

2. Malcolm Mitchell improves and Hogan remains healthy.

Those are the two keys without diving into it in depth.

Agreed. It's significant to me that Mitchell has already begun to emerge...feel like it would be a taller order if he had to start now.

 

[fxkane]

How can we say exactly what this team is since it so far has only been tested once--and failed. As it turns out the Arizona game wasn't really a test, so that leaves Seattle on the road as the only true test. Pittsburgh did not have Big Ben and still played us tough. I mean like what team hasn't played us tough this year--i guess 1-2 teams only. Maybe the second Buffalo game was our best game--that was convincing, and you might call it a lesser test game.

 

[NG Pats Fan]

The Patriots went 3-1 without Brady. I see no reason to think losing Gronk has torpedoed the season, at least from a championship contending perspective.

Patriots record in the playoffs with Gronkowski 7-3
Patriots record in the playoffs without Gronkowski 2-3

Not torpedo but concerning