Patriots Passing Game Finally Connecting Down the Field

Rob Gronkowski has been a dangerous threat down field the last four games. (USA TODAY Images)

Critics were all over Patriots quarterback Tom Brady through the first four games of the season but as they head into Sunday's showdown with the Broncos, Brady and the offense are starting to become fairly dangerous when it comes to getting the ball down the field.

Brady had little luck getting on deep throws during the first four weeks, completing just 4-of-28 (14%) on passes of over 15 yards, including a combined 0-of-9 down the deep left part of the field to Brandon LaFell (0-for-6), Kenbrell Thompkins (0-for-2) and Rob Gronkowski (0-for-1).

However, over the last four games it's been a different story. Brady's success rate has risen dramatically, having completed 17-of-27 (63%) on those attempts and looking closer it's pretty obvious that he's starting to get more in sync with Brandon LaFell and Rob Gronkowski, both of whom got off to a slow start.

He's been lethal when targeting both players down the middle of the field, hitting on 4-of-4 to Gronkowski for 74 yards and 3-of-3 to LaFell for 60 yards.

Here's a breakdown by zone and player through weeks 1-4, as well as weeks 5-8:

WEEKS 1-4:

Tom Brady's Overall Passing Totals for Weeks 1-4:
Weeks 1-4: 81-of-137 (59%) 791-yards 9 Sacks, 4 TD's 2 INT's

Receiving Totals on Deep Throws:

DEEP LEFT: 1-of-13 44yds
Julian Edelman: 1-of-4 44yds
Brandon LaFell: 0-of-6
Kenbrell Thompkins: 0-of-2
Rob Gronkowski: 0-of-1

DEEP MIDDLE: 2-of-6 43yds
Rob Gronkowski: 1-of-2 22yds
Julian Edelman: 1-of-1 21yds
Brandon LaFell: 0-of-3

DEEP RIGHT: 1-of-9 18yds
Rob Gronkowski: 1-of-4 18yds
Julian Edelman: 0-of-3
Shane Vereen: 0-of-1
Danny Amendola: 0-of-1

WEEKS 5-8:

Tom Brady's Overall Passing Totals for Weeks 5-8:
Weeks 5-8: 100-of-144 (69%) 1268-yards 4 Sacks 14 TD's 0 INT's

Receiving Totals on Deep Throws:

DEEP LEFT: 4-of-8 86-yards 1 TD
Tim Wright: 1-of-1 30-yards
Rob Gronkowski: 1-of-2 20-yards
Danny Amendola: 1-of-2 19-yards 1 TD
Brandon LaFell: 1-of-3 17-yards

DEEP MIDDLE: 9-of-11 202-yards 1 TD
Rob Gronkowski: 4-of-4 74-yards
Brandon LaFell: 3-of-3 60-yards
Brian Tyms: 1-of-2 43-yards 1 TD
Tim Wright: 1-of-1 25-yards
Julian Edelman: 0-of-1

DEEP RIGHT: 4-of-8 154-yards 2 TD
Brandon LaFell: 1-of-2 56-yards 1 TD
Shane Vereen: 1-of-1 49-yards 1 TD
Rob Gronkowski: 1-of-2 33-yards
Julian Edelman: 1-of-3 16-yards

ANALYSIS: Part of the likely reason for Brady's improvement has been the fact he's gotten better protection over the previous four contests than he was early on, having been sacked just four times compared to nine over the first four games. We've also seen a change in Brady's confidence level in LaFell, which considering the dynamic created by their success connecting in the passing game is starting to have a significant impact on the offense.

Since the departure of Randy Moss, New England's ability to strike down field has been an area of contention for a while now and it's been good to see the Patriots start having more success in opening up the deeper part of the field considering they've been known as a team that tends to throw underneath, which against better competition has limited what they've been able to do in year's past. Hopefully what's transpired over the past four games is a trend that continues in the weeks to come.