Let's talk about the worst case scenario on offense

[Bourne Again Christian]

yes, it's February, but Tony Mazz "does not feel good" about the team. ..

March

 

[Bourne Again Christian]

Losing...

Lewis = more time for White (seemed like White was second option last year).
Burkhead = more time for Gillislee / new rookie RB. TB would be healthier.
Dola = we won't have to deal with having too much WR and who to cut during training camp.
Gronk = we've survived without him before.
Solder, Waddle, Fleming = Garcia, draft, draft sprinkled with Dante's magic.

Offense will be fine.

I like your optismism.

 

[Steve102]

We lost this Super Bowl with Gronk, won the last one without. Love the guy and love having him on the team, but he's not the end all be all of the offense.

I'm probably the only one in the world that thinks that RB's grow on trees, so I think if all those guys left, it wouldn't be a problem. They would just bring in more guys.

Amendola is part of Brady's inner circle, as we saw in Tom v Time. Losing him is a loss in chemistry that likely isn't replicated in one off season with a new guy. I just don't see a new guy being allowed in like Amedola and Edelman have been. It's a two way street, tho. Amendola won't develop that timing with another QB as quickly, either. My guess is he stays, unless someone throws stoopit money at him. This is his last big pay day.

I agree with the other posters that Solder is the priority.

 

[pctronics0072]

I agree with most of the above. I just think je11 will not be the beast we know him as for about half the season.

Just timing on acls and it takes a at least to get right and most players are still light on the shreded knee for a while.

 

[Deus Irae]

Some say Ray Lewis killed a guy

 

[maineman209]

I agree with most of the above. I just think je11 will not be the beast we know him as for about half the season.

Just timing on acls and it takes a at least to get right and most players are still light on the shreded knee for a while.

If anybody can get all the way back from an ACL by the start of the following season, it's probably Edelman. The fact that he tore it before the season even started already gives him a four-month recovery-period advantage over Welker, who tore his at the very end of the 2009 regular season.

 

[DarrylS]

The annual demise of the offense on this message board is just more deja vu all over again and again and..

Have faith "grasshoppers", somehow, someway the offense will be fine..

 

[maineman209]

I like your optismism.

OPTIMISIM:

Falling off the top of the Sears Tower and, halfway to the ground, saying to yourself, "Well ... so far, so good!"

 

[stinkypete]

I anticipate a lot of roster changes this offseason, perhaps some shocking ones. Solder walks for a big payday? I'm ready for it. An indecisive Gronk gets traded? Won't be shocked. A shakeup is coming.

Offensively, a core skill position group of Cooks, Edelman, Hogan, White and Bennett is good enough to lead the team to a Super Bowl as long as the depth pieces are decent and Brady doesn't get killed.

RBs do grow on trees and there are plenty of serviceable options in FA. Lewis is a special player, but this offense does not require a special player at RB, it requires guys who catch the ball (and don't fumble).

I also think we are slightly overvaluing Solder. He played very well in 2017, but the offense can survive if the other 4 guys stay healthy and continue to gel together.

 

[Bourne Again Christian]

I anticipate a lot of roster changes this offseason, perhaps some shocking ones. Solder walks for a big payday? I'm ready for it. An indecisive Gronk gets traded? Won't be shocked. A shakeup is coming.

Offensively, a core skill position group of Cooks, Edelman, Hogan, White and Bennett is good enough to lead the team to a Super Bowl as long as the depth pieces are decent and Brady doesn't get killed.

RBs do grow on trees and there are plenty of serviceable options in FA. Lewis is a special player, but this offense does not require a special player at RB, it requires guys who catch the ball (and don't fumble).

I also think we are slightly overvaluing Solder. He played very well in 2017, but the offense can survive if the other 4 guys stay healthy and continue to gel together.

If Lewis walks for no more than 5 mill I'd be disappointed.
Rashadd Penny is becoming my running back of choice the more I learn of him.

 

[Richard Camembert]

Some say Ray Lewis killed a guy

...TWO guys.

And you people say the North remembers.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

Aren't we just talking about a repeat of the 2016 offense at the end of the year? No Gronk, but bring Jules and Mitchell back into the fold? Dola is a loss for sure, but if Mitchell is healthy, that should help.

And no Lewis, no Burkhead, but a big back in Gillislee pounding the line like Blount, with White as the passing back. Sounds familiar.

No Solder hurts as some have already noted. But I don't see why we couldn't win a Super Bowl with that offense.

 

[BTTA]

Offensively, a core skill position group of Cooks, Edelman, Hogan, White and Bennett is good enough to lead the team to a Super Bowl as long as the depth pieces are decent and Brady doesn't get killed.

The real optimism is in projecting Bennett and Edelman to be healthy and playing well in 2018.

The skill players that are on the team, and solid: Brady, White, Gillislee, Cooks, Hogan, Mitchell.
Hope he doesn't retire: Gronk, Bennett
Hope they come back from injury: Edelman, Mitchell, Bennett
Hope they sign with the Pats: Lewis, Burkhead

Lot's of dominoes need to fall the right way.

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

Let's assume for the moment that we get unlucky in each of the big player retention issues we're talking about in the offseason

Namely, we lose Lewis and Burkhead, Gronk swans off to fame and fortune in pro wrestling, another team puts money down on Dola and beats our best offer, etc.

Since none of these things would prevent this team from being, at least, a playoff contender anyway, is there any thought to how you think the team should move forward?

Personally I think that while each of these offensive pieces would be a blow to lose, the offense as a whole would be in reasonable shape. Our top 3 receivers are Edelman, Cooks and Hogan.That doesn't change. What changes is that instead of Captain Clutch at WR4, we have Phillip Dorsett... not ideal, but I think the guy can play.

The running attack takes a big hit, but White and Gillislee give us something to work with. We'd probably be looking to add a new running back, but if we make a good choice there, the RBs can carry their weight.

Big blow would be at Tight End -- obviously. People don't like Allen because he's a blocking TE and he tends to make plays happen for other people rather than making plays himself, but that doesn't mean he isn't a playmaker. I watched him create a lot of holes for Lewis over the last year, it's there if you're looking for it. What he does is sometimes a bit subtle and hard to spot, and he's not ideal as a TE1 because he's not a big receiver, but I actually think we'd be OK with a TE tandem of Allen, Bennett and someone like Hollister or another roleplaying TE3. TE would go from being a major strength of the franchise to simply being a functional part of the machine, but we'd probably get by.

This is basically my longwinded way of saying that the offense is pretty deep, and this team's offense is designed with "next man up" in mind. Gronk is the big X factor, our offense currently relies on him a great deal, but if he's gone, it's not that hard to imagine the team finding a way to work around this and keep the offense strong without him.

This big blow would be losing solder since we have no idea on if Garcia will ready for 2018.

 

[primetime]

This big blow would be losing solder since we have no idea on if Garcia will ready for 2018.

I suspect Waddle and Fleming are both capable of stepping in for Solder without much difference, but I'm a lot higher on those two and a lot lower on Solder than most here. Not that I think he's bad, just that he's nothing more than a league average left tackle.

However, left tackle is the only position beside quarterback where going any worse than average is a recipe for catastrophe, so out of fear you'll back the truck full of money up even for an average player.

The problem is we could very easily lose all three tackles in free agency.

 

[Uptown]

Pats line up options as free agent LT expects to be hot commodity

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

I suspect Waddle and Fleming are both capable of stepping in for Solder without much difference, but I'm a lot higher on those two and a lot lower on Solder than most here. Not that I think he's bad, just that he's nothing more than a league average left tackle.

However, left tackle is the only position beside quarterback where going any worse than average is a recipe for catastrophe, so out of fear you'll back the truck full of money up even for an average player.

The problem is we could very easily lose all three tackles in free agency.

I like both waddle and Fleming as well but currently in the roles they’re in. I’m scared for our offense if this is our LT situation for the entire season.

 

[IllegalContact]

I suspect Waddle and Fleming are both capable of stepping in for Solder without much difference, but I'm a lot higher on those two and a lot lower on Solder than most here. Not that I think he's bad, just that he's nothing more than a league average left tackle.

However, left tackle is the only position beside quarterback where going any worse than average is a recipe for catastrophe, so out of fear you'll back the truck full of money up even for an average player.

The problem is we could very easily lose all three tackles in free agency.

Waddle and/or Fleming stepping in for Solder without much difference?

What are you, f*cked?

 

[primetime]

Waddle and/or Fleming stepping in for Solder without much difference?

What are you, f*cked?

Their play in relief of Cannon this past year was miles better than when they were forced into duty in 2015-6 for Solder. Suggests to me that both have improved substantially as players. Fleming held his own against the best defensive line in football without any issue in the Super Bowl and Waddle was a plus right tackle all season. Cannon went from a player everyone wanted cut to an All-Pro with a little seasoning. It's not unreasonable to think they could replace Solder, who's going to get over $12 million a year.

 

[Jangles]

Losing...

Lewis = more time for White (seemed like White was second option last year).
Burkhead = more time for Gillislee / new rookie RB. TB would be healthier.
Dola = we won't have to deal with having too much WR and who to cut during training camp.
Gronk = we've survived without him before.
Solder, Waddle, Fleming = Garcia, draft, draft sprinkled with Dante's magic.

Offense will be fine.

This is sarcasm right?