Losing Edelman and Amendola may be the biggest change for Brady in years

[WaterfallJumper]

Said as much when Edelman first went to IR...



...except that depth has now taken even more of a hit. The Saints defense is not good, but don't be surprised if the offense throws together another clunker again in New Orleans where Brady makes just enough plays to win. This is going to take a little bit but, eventually, Brady will either figure it out or the Pats will make a trade to give him that option.

While I agree with your premise, it's crazy to think that 27 points is considered a clunker (and it was by our standard). We're so used to brilliance, that merely being good is just not enough. Looking at the other games, 27 points would be enough to win for half the league.

 

[Kontradiction]

While I agree with your premise, it's crazy to think that 27 points is considered a clunker (and it was by our standard). We're so used to brilliance, that merely being good is just not enough. Looking at the other games, 27 points would be enough to win for half the league.

Most of that was with Anendola in the game, who is simply not going to stand up to the pounding that Edelman and Welker took. Once he went out, the offense was DOA. In this offense, with Cooks, Hogan, and Gronk, if you give Brady a quick outlet, they're unstoppable. That's why I think they'll rely on much more 20, 21, and 22 personnel going forward and Lewis' snaps will increase. They need guys that can get open quickly to allow Brady to avoid the rush and keep the defense out of Cover-2 to negate both Cooks and Hogan. If Dola can't go, expect to see a lot of both White and Lewis/Burkhead on the field together in the passing game.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

Anybody know what those two games were?

They were both in the 2015 season

Week 12 - Broncos (L) 24-30
Week 16 - NYJ (L) 20-26

Not saying there's a correlation, but it's interesting that both games went into OT and were lost after the Patriots made 4th quarter comebacks to tie them

 

[Keyser Söze]

He still has Cooks, Hogan, Gronk and a talented 4 deep RB roster. No excuse if the offense can't get going.

 

[NG Pats Fan]

He still has Cooks, Hogan, Gronk and a talented 4 deep RB roster. No excuse if the offense can't get going.

Don't forget Dorsett

 

[PatsFanSince74]

There are two things that I feel I can say for certain about Brady and Belichick after watching them work together since 2001:

1) They always adapt.
2) They never make excuses.

I expect neither of those to change this season.

 

[mosslost]

As long as I've known Brady, he's always had a possession receiver to make plays underneath and serve as that vital cog in the Patriots offense. That doesn't just include Wes Welker, but also Troy Brown and Deion Branch.

While the three remaining pure WRs (Hogan, Cooks, Dorsett) all can be lined up in different ways, their biggest skillset has been their downhill speed - rather than their lateral quickness. Each of them are capable of making big plays downfield (each averaging 15 yards or more per reception last season). Even Gronk, before going down with his injury, averaged a whopping 21.6 yards per reception last season.

I am confident that with time, these four deep threat weapons will adjust to filling in the void left by Edelman. Amendola may return soon enough, but he's suffering from more than just a concussion.

Danny has chronic knee issues. I'd rather the Pats let him heal and rest (so he's available for the postseason) than bring him back prematurely.

In the meantime, the players most likely to be a stop-gap measure are the 3rd-down running backs. I can't emphasize this enough....Josh McDaniels has to find a way to utilize the backs in the passing game, particularly James White, Dion Lewis, and to a lesser extent, Rex Burkhead. They may not have the same route-running ability as Amendola, but they are the most elusive players left on the team. In the right circumstances, they can be matchup nightmares who can both run out of the backfield, or be deployed against slower linebackers in space.

GO PATS!

I keep coming back to the fact that Edleman (and yes he is a beast) was a QB. It took him some time but that could have been exasperated by Welker being ahead of him. If Edleman can do it, why could not a Burkhead, who has caught passes out of the slot, work to be Edleman like at least? I would try it with all the scat backs as well. Also, the OP is correct. The offense may need to evolve and look different this year.

All that said, they scored 27 and should have had at least one FG more than that. The DEFENSE is the problem for this team, but I am hoping that gets coached up. I believe this offense will be very Patriot like still unless this year goes full 2015.

 

[Oswlek]

The initial tweet(s) are completely meaningless.

 

[mosslost]

While I agree with your premise, it's crazy to think that 27 points is considered a clunker (and it was by our standard). We're so used to brilliance, that merely being good is just not enough. Looking at the other games, 27 points would be enough to win for half the league.

27 points and they gave away a FG. 27 points would have won 5 of the SBs they played in (36,39, 42, 46, 49) 27-30 points and it still was not a great Patriots Offensive game. The D is the real issue, and I feel they will fix that. The AFC still mostly is average to suck with a few good teams. We are still stacked on Offense.

 

[mgteich]

Don't forget Dorsett

Perhaps Dorsett, Allen, and/or Hollister will be a factor before the half; perhaps not.

 

[mgteich]

Points are MUCH, MUCH harder to get against a SB opponent, our even a playoff opponent. But, I agree, we are indeed still well stacked on offense.

27 points and they gave away a FG. 27 points would have won 5 of the SBs they played in (36,39, 42, 46, 49) 27-30 points and it still was not a great Patriots Offensive game. The D is the real issue, and I feel they will fix that. The AFC still mostly is average to suck with a few good teams. We are still stacked on Offense.

 

[NG Pats Fan]

Perhaps Dorsett, Allen, and/or Hollister will be a factor before the half; perhaps not.

Dorsett is a lot better than hollister. He's a young first round draft pick whom we gave up a good backup QB for. Mcdaniels has big plans for him

 

[mgteich]

Dorsett is a lot better than hollister. He's a young first round draft pick whom we gave up a good backup QB for. Mcdaniels has big plans for him

I strongly agree. My hope is that he will be a major contributor in the playoffs and SB.

However a move TE just might be used as we move to more 2 WR sets.

With regard to Dorsett, it will take some time for everyone to feel comfortable with passing to him before he makes his cut, as required in this read first offense. Our offense takes being on the same page to a much higher level than most teams.

 

[mosi]

They were both in the 2015 season

Week 12 - Broncos (L) 24-30
Week 16 - NYJ (L) 20-26

Not saying there's a correlation, but it's interesting that both games went into OT and were lost after the Patriots made 4th quarter comebacks to tie them

Thanks. That is the game were they lost Gronk as well and I don't think he played much in the Jets game either, correct?

 

[InRodWeRust]

Somebody call Josh Boyce ASAP!

 

[BradyFTW!]

I wouldn't read much into Amendola's knee being on the injury report. That doesn't necessarily mean anything, especially with him in concussion protocol.

As far as replacing his production, I'm curious to see if Cooks can do some of it. He has exceptional burst and quickness. We used him in more of a downfield role last game, but I wouldn't be shocked if that changes with Amendola out and a full week and a half to prepare.

Burkhead might be another option as a safety valve in the slot.

 

[Oswlek]

I wouldn't read much into Amendola's knee being on the injury report. That doesn't necessarily mean anything, especially with him in concussion protocol.

As far as replacing his production, I'm curious to see if Cooks can do some of it. He has exceptional burst and quickness. We used him in more of a downfield role last game, but I wouldn't be shocked if that changes with Amendola out and a full week and a half to prepare.

Burkhead might be another option as a safety valve in the slot.

It's pure speculation on my part, but I think the reason NE was willing to surrender a 1st for Cooks is because the expectation is he'll develop into a supercharged version of the Welker/Edelman role while also being an excellent chess piece on the boundary/downfield while that role is filled by current players.

In other words, now that both Julian and Danny are on the shelf, I'll be shocked if Cooks doesn't gradually take more of those responsibilities as the season goes on.

 

[maineman209]

Somebody call Josh Boyce ASAP!

Okay.

"Josh Boyce, you're A SAP!"

 

[BradyFTW!]

It's pure speculation on my part, but I think the reason NE was willing to surrender a 1st for Cooks is because the expectation is he'll develop into a supercharged version of the Welker/Edelman role while also being an excellent chess piece on the boundary/downfield while that role is filled by current players.

In other words, now that both Julian and Danny are on the shelf, I'll be shocked if Cooks doesn't gradually take more of those responsibilities as the season goes on.

Yeah I'm definitely on the same page there: Cooks has always struck me as someone who, based purely on physical attributes, should fit well into an Edelman-type role... but who also has legit 4.3 downfield speed and plays way bigger than his size in going up and making contested catches. He and Tavon Austin were both billed as something like that coming out of college, but unlike Austin, Cooks has actually lived up to his WR potential. I do think there's more versatility there that he never really had to showcase in New Orleans because they don't feature that sort of role so prominently. He isn't on Edelman's level breaking tackles once the ball is in his hands, but I don't see any physical reason why he couldn't be integrated into the short passing game as someone who can get open extremely quickly. He has the quickness, he's strong enough to beat the press, and unlike with the other guys he's fast enough downfield that you have to worry about him torching you for 60 yards if you press him too predictably.

 

[maineman209]

I keep coming back to the fact that Edleman (and yes he is a beast) was a QB. It took him some time but that could have been exasperated by Welker being ahead of him. If Edleman can do it, why could not a Burkhead, who has caught passes out of the slot, work to be Edleman like at least? I would try it with all the scat backs as well. Also, the OP is correct. The offense may need to evolve and look different this year.

All that said, they scored 27 and should have had at least one FG more than that. The DEFENSE is the problem for this team, but I am hoping that gets coached up. I believe this offense will be very Patriot like still unless this year goes full 2015.

Edelman actually caught 37 of 54 tgts for 359 yards and a TD as a rookie, and returned 6 punts and 11 kickoffs for better than league average. He showed at least a bit of his magic from the get-go.

In addition to Burkhead, either Foster and Carr may have been able to develop into a very good slot receiver - eventually. But I think their futures with the Pats may have changed the moment Edelman was injured and the slot receiver issue became a bit more of a "right the eff now" issue. Burkhead gets some time this season because he's a decent runner between the tackles.