Our biggest strengths on offense:
1. Cam. He's really started to reach a comfort level making the tough throws. He seems to live for 3rd downs where he passes for over 10 yards per attempt and has a league-leading quarterback rating on that down. The result has been tons of 10+ play drives and gobbling up clock. He runs on designed runs less now than ever. Our lone touchdown yesterday was a counter play where we used cam as a decoy in a triple-option formation.
2. Mike Tolbert. He gets the tough yards on short yardage situations like you'd expect, but you wouldn't expect the way he can catch the ball and change directions. And then once he runs over you, like commentators like to say, 'it's like trying to tackle a fire hydrant'.
Weaknesses on offense:
1. Offensive line. You'd never know it, but our traditional running game from an I formation/single back has been mediocre at best. We've been decimated at guard. After numerous injuries, we brought back Travelle Wharton off the street and he's been serviceable. We converted a backup DT to right guard in Nate Chandler. And another injury at RG forced us to convert Sione Fua, a DT that we cut earlier in the year to guard to be his backup.
Byron Bell at right tackle is an undrafted guy that has started for us for a couple of years, but he's been really weak against good edge rushers. (gave up 4 sacks to Mario Williams)
2. Receivers. Steve Smith is basically a 5'-9" possession receiver now. He's not going to take the top off any defense. The crew behind him all have incomplete developments as receivers to say the least. All of them have had a big problem with drops this year at times, including Smith.
Biggest strength on Defense:
1. Defensive Tackles: Under rivera, this has been a weakness. But the rotation of our rookies Lotulelei and Short have made our interior line play 10 times better than before. Quarterbacks are finding that they're not getting a good pocket to step up into. Opposing interior linemen can't get to the second level, and as a result our linebackers can run free.
2. Linebackers: aided by the DTs in front of them, they are flying around to the football. And in passing, there may not be any better linebackers in coverage than Kuechly and Davis.
Biggest weakness on defense:
1. Corners: Another area that was roiled by injury, this crew that is lacking in overall talent has come together and performed admirably. However, they lack the top end speed to cover deep shots. If brady can get some time, there is big play potential in this secondary. Our safeties are aggressive and can be caught out of position when it comes time for them to provide help over the top.
2. Zone defense: Like I said, we play a lot of zone. An experienced QB like Brady should be able to move the ball if he knows where to find the soft spots. Often times we leave Kuechly alone to cover the middle of the field, and he can't always shut down the elite tight ends up the seam.
Special teams may play a role. They've been playing great for the most part. Kick and punt coverage has been good. Gano takes kickoffs out of the end zone 3/4s of the time. Ted Ginn and our punter, Nortman, have flipped the field position game numerous times. The thing that keeps happening to us, though, is having a punt hit one of our punt return blockers for a muff. I think we've lost 3 of those this year.
Good stuff. I will try to offer a similar Pats summary. Others please critique where necessary.
Offense:
Passing:
Tom Brady. His statistics have been down this year for a number of reasons. He had huge changes in the roster to deal with (losses of Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, and Danny Woodhead). Gronkowski was gone for most of the year, and he just played his third game of the year after back and arm surgeries. Danny Amendola had one good game, then went injured for much of the season, also just returning. Shane Vereen, Woodhead's successor, has been gone much of the year, and may be back. The last game against the Steelers was really the first time all his personnel were present (except for Vereen). Julian Edelman was leaned on heavily by Brady when Gronk and Amendola were out, and now leads the team with 49 catches (in his 4 prior years with the Pats, he had a total of 69 receptions).
Aaron Dobson and Kenbrel Thompkins, rookie receivers, have shown the ability to separate and promise, but are rookies with drops, miscues, etc. Dobson seems to have taken the lead over Thompkins, but Thompkins seemed to have the edge earlier in the year. Both have shown improvement and increased comfort with the offense as the season progressed.
For Brady individually, he has held the ball longer than usual and been sacked a lot more. He has made some uncharacteristically bad throws and bad decisions (a few heaves that resulted in interceptions you would never have seen, and some pick 6's he would typically not throw). There have been some stinkers of offensive performances at a career level, 118 passing yards in the game against the Dolphins for example. Really, last game was the first game he really seemed comfortable and much like he was last season.
Running Game:
Stevan Ridley is the most explosive running back. Fans here continue to debate why he doesn't get the ball more often. LeGarrette Blount you know from his days at Tampa, and is the second must used back as well as returning kickoffs. Brandon Bolden is a hard straight ahead runner who can catch the ball. Shane Vereen is used as well, has practiced as a wideout.
Offensive line:
There have been some legitimate failures in the line that nobody expected to see. Some of the sacks are simply holding the ball too long, others have been unblocked defensive linemen right up the middle after failed blocking assignments and pickups. The Pats recently lost their starting right tackle, Sebastian Vollmer, but his absence doesn't explain the line play. Gronkowski plays a big role in run blocking, and he should continue to help as he comes back into form.
Defense:
It is tough to see what the defense is on a given week due to the loss of Wilfork, Kelly, Mayo and recently Talib. This defense has shown itself to be very good early on, but each loss causes shuffling and the addition of rookies learning the game and making mistakes.
Defensive line:
Both Vince Wilfork and Tommy Kelly are huge for the defense (literally and figuratively), and both are gone. Two rookies, Chris Jones and Joe Vellano have stepped in, and have actually made some plays against the run and pass - but they are not monstrously big and can be blocked out of plays. They are not the same, and seemed to have a tough time with the run so the Pats added Isaac Sopoaga to shore the line. It is tough to tell how much he adds at this point to the run defense as he has not been with the Pats for very long. Chandler Jones is coming into his own, and can get after the QB. Rob Ninkovich is a smart athlete who knows how to make plays and finds the ball. Andre Carter just returned to the Pats after a previously successful season in 2011.
Linebackers:
Jerod Mayo has been a huge part of the defense, and is on IR. Brandon Spikes is the run stopper, and lacks quickness for real pass defense. Dont'a Hightower is a gifted athlete with strength and speed who has showed promise and the ability to make plays. Dane Fletcher has had injury issues, but also shows promise. Jamie Collins is a second round pick with physical ability but he has only recently started to see the field.
Defensive backs:
Devin McCourty is playing at an all pro level at safety, showing the ability to tackle, defense passes and lead on the field. Aquib Talib, when healthy and on the field, was phenomenal in coverage and showed he was capable of single-handedly eliminating the best pass catcher - TE or WR. His status is unknown. Alonzo Dennard has shown good coverage skills. Kyle Arrington worked his way up the roster, can get torched at times, but is smart and has a nose for the ball with his INTs. Logan Ryan is a rookie, has made his rookie mistakes but also has flashed coverage and ball-hawking skills. Steve Gregory has performed well as safety, with good tackling abilities and offering a good veteran presence, but broke his thumb. The rest have not really put in strong showings, so I would strain to say more than I tend not to celebrate when they are on the field because bad things tend to happy when they see playing time.
