Moss: Pats offense can be scarier than '07

[signbabybrady]

well although the RB and TE position may be an upgrade, its hard to say that the TE has much offensive impact with so many talented receivers. On the 07 team, the best package we had was when Kyle Brady basically became the 6th o-lineman. After all, with Moss and Welker (and back then Stallworth), there wasn't that many passes to go around (which is fine - Watson would have dropped them anyway).

But the difference in my opinion is that this year's Oline won't be as strong. Its basically the same cast of guys - all of them 2 years older - and with the exception of Mankins - who is now a stud and back then was a little green - the rest of the guys have lost a step (of course, Kazcur never had a step to begin with).

I think protection made all the difference (think Jax playoff game). We'll see but I can't imagine the 09 edition being anywhere as close to the 07 team as some others apparently predict.

Your point about the O-line is somewhat valid but definitely overstated. I agree That the 2 years do nothing good for Light and Neal who are both now two years older (obviously as everyone else is). In Mankins case as you point out the 2 years helped him develope more although you decide to ignore this would be similarly true of Kaczur (but more importantly for Kaczur 2 years hopefully means his and addiction problems are long past). I don't think the 2 years meant much to Koppen as he is in his prime. But what the two years does that isn't mentioned is allowed us to build better depth. We still have hochstein and a couple of other guys and now we had some rookies to the mix.


As to Moss' prediction they will be better this year...I think it is hard to say statistically they will break as many records and all that but I think the offense will be equally or tougher to defend and it should lead to one hell of a season but to say they will destroy their own records and go 16-0 again is saying alot. But I assure Defenses will be equally as scared of this offense as they were in 07.

 

[jmt57]

will need WR's 3 and 4 to step up

While that is true to a certain extent, I think the Pats will end up with a more balanced offense than in 2007 - not so much with more plays by the #3 and #4 WR, but more plays involving the RBs and TEs.

Gaffney and Stallworth combined for 1147 yards and 8 TD on 72 receptions in 2007; I would not expect that much production from Galloway and Lewis - or any #3/#4 WRs. However, I can possibly see more passes thrown to the Tight Ends; in 2007 Watson, Brady and Thomas combined for 468 yards and 8 TD on 46 receptions.

The big difference should be with the RB. In 2007 Kevin Faulk started as many games as the rest of the RBs combined. Sammie Morris missed ten games and Laurence Maroney missed three; this year's roster has all three back and healthy, plus Fred Taylor and BJGE.

To me the current group of TEs and RBs will reduce the need for Galloway and Lewis to put up the numbers that Stallworth and Gaffney did in 2007.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

sign

It's true Light and Neal arew two years older. I would point out the guys they are blocking are two years older. I would say that a full offseason is more significant than age when one considers it's natural for all of us to get older.

So what if everyone blitzes. Does anyone think our staff can't figure that out?

 

[VJCPatriot]

I think that the 2009 Patriots can be more balanced than the 2007 edition. That's the key. Also the WR corps is slightly better Galloway+Lewis > Stallworth+Gaffney and Moss and Welker now have 2 years of the offense under their belts. Adding Taylor, Baker, and Smith means we can also expect more production from the RB and TE positions.

A balanced offense will be even harder to stop. The Pats had to go pass heavy in 2007 because of injuries that took down Sammy Morris and had a decimated OL towards the end of the year. In short I think our 2009 offense CAN be even better than 2007 and that really is a scary thought for the rest of the NFL. Moss has it right.

 

[BradyManny]

A balanced offense will be even harder to stop. The Pats had to go pass heavy in 2007 because of injuries that took down Sammy Morris and had a decimated OL towards the end of the year. In short I think our 2009 offense CAN be even better than 2007 and that really is a scary thought for the rest of the NFL. Moss has it right.

I really think if Morris hadn't been lost for the year, what happened in the Super Bowl would not have happened. His style of running is sort of an insurance policy. LoMo is no doubt a more explosive back, but Morris was plowing for positive yardage consistently that season, and he might've been able to be used in that game to keep the Giants DL from tee-ing off on our OL.

 

[Deus Irae]

I really think if Morris hadn't been lost for the year, what happened in the Super Bowl would not have happened. His style of running is sort of an insurance policy. LoMo is no doubt a more explosive back, but Morris was plowing for positive yardage consistently that season, and he might've been able to be used in that game to keep the Giants DL from tee-ing off on our OL.

The Giants were destroying the interior of the line. Morris would have been useless. People didn't realize how important Neal was to the line until this year, and I think people are still underestimating that.

 

[murphysbuddylove]

I love the depth at the skill positions on this team.

 

[eternal]

The only way this team is going to better than '07 is if their style and effectiveness reverts back to the '04 team, which to me, was the best pats team ever. They were nearly perfectly balanced on O, and could impose their will (especially at home in the cold) on anybody (see divisional playoff game against Indy) on defense.
Maybe part of what he meant about being better on offense was to be more balanced.

 

[Kontradiction]

This offense won't set the records of the '07 offense, but it should still be tops in the league while also being far more balanced than that 2007 edition. The addition of Fred Taylor proves that.

 

[Leave No Doubt]

Moss: Pats' O Could Be Scarier Than '07

Moss: Pats offense can be scarier than '07 - AFC East - ESPN

"The sky's the limit for this offense," Patriots receiver Randy Moss told me over the phone Monday afternoon. "I think that we could be a little bit better than two years ago.

"I'm very excited for us as an offense. I'm excited for us as a team. There's a lot of good things about Tom Brady coming back that excites the people, the fans, the coaches and the players around here.

"All we can hope is to come out with smoking guns."

When Moss and Welker helped New England obliterate NFL records in 2007, they were in their first season with the Patriots. They still were learning the offense as they almost ran the table, going undefeated until losing to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

Moss, who didn't sound bothered by offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels' departure, claimed this year's Patriots legitimately could threaten that catalog of records they set their first year together.

"This year, it's going to be a little bit scarier because we do have two years up under our belts," said Moss, who caught an NFL record 23 touchdown passes in 2007. "This offense is complicated. To be point blank, they don't want dummies in this offense. You have to be somewhat intelligent to be able to go ahead and run this offense because one play you could be here; the next play you could be there. You have to be versatile to be able to change positions and be good."

Good point about '07 being a sort of "learning curve" for Randy and Wes because it was their first year here. So many records were set that year it was hard to believe they'd just signed on. Now with a couple of years on their record plus TFB being back...:woohoo:

Interesting little conclusion reached by the writer regarding the fact Moss "didn't sound bothered by Josh's departure". Hmm. Owell, just come out smokin' Randy, and yes I'm PSYCHED