Yes, it was an injury ****show all around. However, it's not a Chicken and Egg debate. It's a given that games are won in the trenches. You have a healthy O-line that's keeping your QB upright and opening holes for your RBs, you're ahead of the game.
You have an injured O-line where you're relying on an OT who didn't even start the year on your team to start at LT for you and your playing from behind and already puts your QB (be it Brady or otherwise) at a disadvantage.
No one is arguing that not having Develin, Lewis and Blount hurt the team. But did it hurt them more than not having Solder? Having an injured Vollmer playing? Having an Injured Cannon playing? Having injuries to Klein, Mason, and Jackson?
A healthy O-line would have been better at pass protection and run blocking than what the Pats put out there. And that would have gone a lot farther to helping the team.
They wouldn't have had to rely on the pass if they had someone who could get more than 2 yards down the stretch last year.
The Pass-Run ratio for the Pats in the AFCCG was 56-17.
The Pass-Run ratio for the Pats in the AFC Playoff game vs. KC was 42-14
If the pass block was really the weakest link for the OL, then why did they pass 76% of the time?
Here are the rushing averages for the last 4 games of the season:
NYJ - 2.9
Mia - 2.6
KC - 2.7
Denver - 2.6
But yes, they couldn't pass block in those games with an injured and inexperienced OL. Like I said - - it was
both.
Stork was IR'ed
(Sept. 5) and Solder was IR'ed
(Oct 14th) and they still had a running game for a while after they were out. It was just as much the dearth of RB personnel that did them in as it was the OL.
Statistically it all changed with the Lewis IR on
November 9th, but even more with the Blount IR on
December 15th - - THAT was the death knell.
Why? Look at the box scores stats:
here are the last 100+ team rushing yard games
10/18 - 116
11/8 - 161
**Dion Lewis placed on IR 11/9
12/6 - 103
12/13 - 116
**LeGarette Blount placed on IR 12/15
Those four games that line was already without Solder and Stork - it was the same line they had down the stretch.
Post 12/13 game, the Patriots never broke 100 again, and except for one game, never broke 70.
November 9th (Lewis) was the uppercut to the jaw and December 15th (Blount) was the finisher.
Steven Jackson was Tyson in the Douglas fight on the canvas searching for his mouthpiece. The Patriots were just struggling to stand up.
.
.