Sooo....what happens if Brandon Lloyd or Wes Welker goes down?

[Ring 6]

Well you forget the OC out of this equasion. During the O'Brien era, the defense was built around the dink-and-dunk plays and short-to-intermediate routes.

But last time McD was here (and based on everything he did elsewhere outside of drafting Tebow) screams deep passing. His offensive repertoire has always consisted of consistent running attack, screen passes and regular deep bombs.

Ofc he will have to adjust his schemes according to our personnel groups, and the double-TE-threat is something he is not used to. But you are all so lost if you think we will see that O'Brien type of offense this year as well.

We WILL see more deep passes this year than the last, becouse that is how McD operates.

I disagree with this analysis.
The difference in the amount of deep passing we did under different OCs is only related to whether or not Randy Moss was on the roster.
Before 2007, people complained McDaniels was a dink and dunk OC. (Which he kind of is, because he believes in substituting the short pass for the run game)

 

[ATippett56]

We WILL see more deep passes this year than the last, becouse that is how McD operates.

New England Patriots 2012 Preview - ESPN

The Patriots' reliance on multiple-tight-end formations has not affected their ability to throw the ball downfield. Tom Brady improved his performance on passes of 15-plus air yards from 2010 to 2011 (12-3 TD-to-INT ratio in 2011 compared to 9-4 in 2010).

Since 2008, Brandon Lloyd had the most targets (137) in the NFL without a drop on passes that traveled at least 15 air yards downfield. During the same time span, the Patriots ranked 28th in the NFL with 22 drops on passes of that length.

 

[SB39]

Who will take their place? We really have no one behind them besides Edelman and Slater

One thing that definitely happens if those guys go down is my fantasy teams will suffer a lot!

 

[SB39]

There are no remaining familiar faces on the market. Bill signed the last three in existence this off season and then cut them all. And Gaffney's injury is said to be personally guesstimated to be of a week or two in remaining duration, not several weeks. That is what he has told multiple teams who are interested in working him out.

Shiancoe may yet land on IR. And word was out early yesterday that he was being cut. That usually emanates from players or agents, and may indicate he knows he's not long for the roster.

In Bill we trust.

 

[SB39]

Bedard mentioned in his interview that the pats have been calling around about help at a few positions, I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume one is receiver.

It was mentioned that James Jones was being dangled at one point by the pack. Would really like him as Lloyd backup and he's a great off the field guy as well. If it weren't for his inconsistent hands he'd be a legit number 2 in this league.

He'd probably be a good #3 here.

 

[SB39]

There are no replacements for welker or Lloyd. If one or both of them go down, the scheme is in big trouble.

Neither Edelman nor slater has done a thing at WR the lest 2 years

Yes, the scheme would be in trouble, and then they would develop an entirely new scheme to go with the personnel available.

 

[The Scrizz]

What happens if Gronk or AH goes down for an extended period? What happens if Solder goes down? What happens if Wilfork goes down?

You can't have all-pro back-ups at every position. We had one of the worst safety pairings in NFL history last year for a good chunk of the season and made the SB.

If you have Brady and 52 other guys you have a shot.

 

[mgteich]

This is nonsense. The bottom of our roster is likely to be improved. There is no reason to "settle" for the 2011 safety situation. The POINT is that we should prepare for injuries. Belichick has done so, and will continue to do so.

We have at least $9M left in cap room and 5 very marginal youngsters on the roster. Belichick should be, and most certainly is, looking for upgrades for the backup positions.

IMHO, the open question is who can add more to the roster than the bottom 5 players on our roster: Bolden, McDonald, Forsten, Francis and Boldin. All these players are Practice Squad eligible; we would be unlikely to lose their services. Most would add Shiancoe to the list.

What happens if Gronk or AH goes down for an extended period? What happens if Solder goes down? What happens if Wilfork goes down?

You can't have all-pro back-ups at every position. We had one of the worst safety pairings in NFL history last year for a good chunk of the season and made the SB.

If you have Brady and 52 other guys you have a shot.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

What happens if Gronk or AH goes down for an extended period? What happens if Solder goes down? What happens if Wilfork goes down?

You can't have all-pro back-ups at every position. We had one of the worst safety pairings in NFL history last year for a good chunk of the season and made the SB.

If you have Brady and 52 other guys you have a shot.

Losing wilfork is a lot different than losing welker for the year or lloyd for the year

 

[UofApatsfan]

If Welker goes down - Edelman steps in as his replacement as someone who has been productive as a fill-in for Welker. Brady has made no name players productive slot receivers. Naturally the offense takes a step back when its leader in yards and receptions goes down, but Welker is largely a product of this system as much as no one wants to admit it.

If Lloyd goes down - Brady goes back to almost exclusively using Welker, Gronk, Hernandez, and running backs in the passing game like he did last year when they accounted for roughly 80% of his total yards. Not having a big threat lined up outside didn't stop the team from almost winning the superbowl last year, so a Brandon Lloyd injury isn't some dreadful scenario worth discussing ad-naseum. The way the offense looked without Gronk makes another injury to him much worse than an injury to Lloyd.

The lack of depth at linebacker and at O-line seems like a much bigger concern than the lack of depth at receiver imo. If Welker and Lloyd do stay healthy chances are this group of receivers will be much more productive than last year's group.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

If Welker goes down - Edelman steps in as his replacement as someone who has been productive as a fill-in for Welker. Brady has made no name players productive slot receivers. Naturally the offense takes a step back when its leader in yards and receptions goes down, but

If Lloyd goes down - Brady goes back to almost exclusively using Welker, Gronk, Hernandez, and running backs in the passing game like he did last year when they accounted for roughly 80% of his total yards. Not having a big threat lined up outside didn't stop the team from almost winning the superbowl last year, so a Brandon Lloyd injury isn't some dreadful scenario worth discussing ad-naseum. The way the offense looked without Gronk makes another injury to him much worse than an injury to Lloyd.

The lack of depth at linebacker and at O-line seems like a much bigger concern than the lack of depth at receiver imo. If Welker and Lloyd do stay healthy chances are this group of receivers will be much more productive than last year's group.

No boubt the O line is the major issue this year

 

[Rob0729]

Branch will be back. Mike Giardi says there is a mutual interest for him to return. He likely will be signed after 4PM tomorrow when Shiancoe goes to the new IR designation and frees up a roster spot.

I still think there is still a good chance Gaffney is re-signed next week.

If Lloyd goes down, the Pats are in a slightly better position than the Pats were last year considering I would consider Salas an upgrade over Ochocinco. Branch would go back to the #1 WR position.

If Welker goes down, Edelman replaces him. I think that might not change even if Gaffney and Branch are on the roster.

I think the Pats are in worse shape at other positions if the starters go down, most notably the tackle spot. I think once Branch is re-signed this WR position is significantly upgraded from last year with the addition of Lloyd and Salas.

 

[Rob0729]

No boubt the O line is the major issue this year

I don't buy that it has major issues. At least not yet. The only starting roster turnover is Light and maybe Waters. We haven't seen the starting line up play together as a unit yet this year. So we have no idea how they compare to what we saw in the preseason. Based on the limited views of Mankins and Vollmer, it should be much better.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

I don't buy that it has major issues. At least not yet. The only starting roster turnover is Light and maybe Waters. We haven't seen the starting line up play together as a unit yet this year. So we have no idea how they compare to what we saw in the preseason. Based on the limited views of Mankins and Vollmer, it should be much better.

It will get better throughout the year as they mesh

 

[ATippett56]

BostonHerald.com - Blogs: The Blitz» Blog Archive » Are the Patriots too thin at wide receiver? Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels weighs in

”We have plenty of players that can make a contribution on offense,” McDaniels said. ”We throw the ball to hopefully every skill player that plays in the game, has an opportunity to make some plays for us, whether that be in the backfield, a tight end, or at the receiver position. No, we’ve played with a lot of different variations, numbers of certain positions over the course of time. The guys we got now, I feel good about and excited to use them on Sunday.”

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

BostonHerald.com - Blogs: The Blitz» Blog Archive » Are the Patriots too thin at wide receiver? Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels weighs in

I think Branch of Gaffney could be back...but who knows

 

[ATippett56]

I think Branch of Gaffney could be back...but who knows

From a personal perspective, I would want at least one back as a backup to Brandon Lloyd.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

From a personal perspective, I would want at least one back as a backup to Brandon Lloyd.

If lloyd goes down...whoever has gronk or hernandez on their fantasy team will be winning a lot of games

 

[Urgent]

I would very quickly drop the 11th DL for a 3rd WR.
Sorry Marcus.

Then slide Forston to PS.
Sorry Malcolm Williams.