Brady is having a great season

[Biffins]

Brady has reason to be frustrated with his offense but he's as much of a force as he's ever been. And fans should cut him some slack.

Brady is currently 2nd in the NFL in throwing yards at 2,536 after Rivers, who has had one more game on their Thursday night loss. I am pretty sure Brady will end the season top of the table in Passing Yards.

2019 NFL Passing | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Unfortunately this is not because of how efficient our passing game is but how deficient our running game is.

Now part of the problem is that the 2 guys leading the Passing Yards category, Rivers and Brady, are just throwing too much. Rivers and Brady have 7.7 and 7.1 NY/A which are pretty weak. They are leading in passing yards since they have thrown by far the most in the league with 365 and 360 attempts and that's 10 games for Rivers and 9 for Brady. Adjusting for that, Patriots are throwing the ball the most per game. This should dispel the notion that Brady is on any count of pitch count. Brady will probably end the season throwing the most amount of passes in the league by any QB. This should be a surprise for many.

The reason is their weak sauce running game this season. Pats rank 29th out of 32 in Y/A for running at 3.3 yards.

2019 NFL Standings & Team Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

We all know the reasons, loss of 3 OL, loss of 2 blocking TEs from last year, loss of FB. Cumulative loss has been devastating. And Michel is the kind of runner who needs efficient blocking and can't improvise much.

So the responsibility has fallen on Brady to carry the team. And some of the issues in running (OL and TE) are also affecting the Passing. And the turnover on receivers on top of that. Despite that Brady has done credibly.

Patriots lead the NFL in 270 pts and are 2nd in pts/game at 30.0 versus Baltimore at 31.4 pts/game. And removing the 2 fumble TDs and 2 Interception TDs doesn't change things dramatically as Baltimore also has 2 fumble TDs and 1 Interception TD. And it's not just a case of short field position as I have already demonstrated with passing yards table. We're moving the ball.

I am very confident if our running game improves its efficiency even slightly, to get to middle of the pack at 4.2 yards per carry or something, our passing offense's efficiency will improve dramatically as we become less one dimensional.

Brady should be given lots of credit for how much he's doing with how little help he has. The running game has hampered the overall offense with being predictable. The OL's troubles are causing more pressures on him. The lack of TEs for receiving targets reduces the packages we can run in offense and our options in general. And the turnover in WR is just the cherry on top, making it harder for the team to gel and everyone to get on the same page.

Brady deserves kudos for doing so much with so little. I really hope the contract situation doesn't unravel in an ugly fashion. We're lucky to have him and we should all be thankful we're watching this man play for us.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Not his best (obviously, hes 42) but I’ll gladly take this level of performance any year.

 

[primetime]

He's playing very well. The deficiencies of his receiving group and offensive line are most apparent in the red zone, where the Patriots have been uncharacteristically inefficient this year, 23rd in the NFL at a 50% TD rate. (Buffalo is over 20 percentage points higher, i.e. Buffalo scores more than one touchdown compared to the Patriots every 5 attempts inside the 20. That's a big deal!)

Missing Gronk in particular in the red zone, both as target and blocker, and Develin as a blocker and up-ball carrier. I think Patterson was a bigger loss than people realize too, his Swiss Army knife abilities helped Brady read defenses. Hopefully Harry will make a difference at the goal line.

 

[Doctor DDS]

The loss of the TE option on offense has been huge. With Gronk the Pats forced teams to decide whether to play big or small and either option had a major downside that the Past could exploit. This version of the Pats offense is its least dynamic since 2013. Without a dual threat TE the offence is exceedingly predictable making it difficult to run and forcing them to be virtually flawless in their execution to be effective passing. Their margin of error is smaller than its been in a very long time. That said, am still hopeful that when Wynn returns and Lacosse gets healthy they will make enough improvements to be a more than solid complimentary unit to the defense.

 

[FCB02062]

What on Earth gives you confidence that the Pats will get their run avg to 4.2? That has zero basis in reality. Wynn coming back? Don't think so...his one full game vs Pitt Pat's gained 99 yards on 29 carries and Sony Michel averaged LESS THAN ONE YARD A CARRY!!!

 

[borg]

“Great” must have a new meaning

Middle of QB pack in rating, INTs, TDs.
Tops in intentional groundings.

Labeling Brady as “great” this year is based on reputation not performance

 

[PatsBoy12]

Not his best (obviously, hes 42) but I’ll gladly take this level of performance any year.

I honestly don't think his age has anything to do with it. The offense around him is about as bad as we've seen in the almost 20-year run - patchwork offensive line, no run game, no TE's and only two receivers he can really trust. A younger Brady probably isn't putting up much better numbers than this version dealing with the same circumstances.

 

[RobertWeathers]

What on Earth gives you confidence that the Pats will get their run avg to 4.2? That has zero basis in reality. Wynn coming back? Don't think so...his one full game vs Pitt Pat's gained 99 yards on 29 carries and Sony Michel averaged LESS THAN ONE YARD A CARRY!!!

Squealers run D is decent but I agree. Any belief the NEP run O hitting 4ypc this year is a pipedream. They might improve a little but it'll be negligible

 

[PatsBoy12]

Squealers run D is decent but I agree. Any belief the NEP run O hitting 4ypc this year is a pipedream. They might improve a little but it'll be negligible

And that is what scares me most if they can't get the pass game going. They relied so heavily on the run down the stretch and in the playoffs. If they can't do the same this season, it may be extremely difficult for them to get back to the SB, especially if they face a team that can score in bunches.

 

[p8ryts]

OK, my head is starting to hurt. If memory serves correct we go through this faux angst every year. Tom doesn't have any weapons. The OL sucks, RB's can't get traction, defense sucks. Every year there are problems. Some times it gets worked out, sometimes it doesn't. I would still pick this year's Tom Brady to lead a SB run. BUT, please Tom, stop talking like a whiney teenager. The last couple of year's it seems that Tom's ego is fighting to get out.

 

[Doctor DDS]

The formula for this Pats teams ultimate success is closer to the 2015 Broncos than it is to most recent Patriots versions. That Broncos defense got it done particularly in the playoffs and the offense did just enough to bring them the title. This Patriots offense, as flawed as it is, is still miles better than that Broncos team so if the defense can keep other teams in check there is no reason this team will not be one of the 4 finalists with a real shot at the title.

 

[PatsBoy12]

OK, my head is starting to hurt. If memory serves correct we go through this faux angst every year. Tom doesn't have any weapons. The OL sucks, RB's can't get traction, defense sucks. Every year there are problems. Some times it gets worked out, sometimes it doesn't. I would still pick this year's Tom Brady to lead a SB run. BUT, please Tom, stop talking like a whiney teenager. The last couple of year's it seems that Tom's ego is fighting to get out.

While I don't necessarily disagree here, I'd say that I don't believe it's his ego at all. I just think he sees how obviously short his time has become and he wants to win as many SB's as he can before the ride is over. He knows how difficult it is and how little is the margin for error.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

OK, my head is starting to hurt. If memory serves correct we go through this faux angst every year. Tom doesn't have any weapons. The OL sucks, RB's can't get traction, defense sucks. Every year there are problems. Some times it gets worked out, sometimes it doesn't. I would still pick this year's Tom Brady to lead a SB run. BUT, please Tom, stop talking like a whiney teenager. The last couple of year's it seems that Tom's ego is fighting to get out.

You don't understand. Worst. 8-1 team. Evah. Since the defense isn't the 85 Bears it couldnt stop a drain. It has to stop by a fishing supply store to BUY tackle. The offensive line can't be compared to turnstiles because turnstiles would sue for defamation. Brady's taking snaps in the fetal position. Our tight ends would be glorified tackles if they could block. I call our O-line the cell phone generation because they're not only useless in a phone booth, they don't know what one is. My nose runs better than the Patriots' backfield, our receivers couldn't catch the clap in Bangkok brothel, and if it weren't that this team goes to the super bowl pretty much every year, I'd say the season's ovah.



Hang tough. The only thing worse than this team's draft performance is its game day performance. Ask our local draftniks and our game day thread.

 

[primetime]

Squealers run D is decent but I agree. Any belief the NEP run O hitting 4ypc this year is a pipedream. They might improve a little but it'll be negligible

A 90 yard run probably gets them to 4 ypc. The average matters less than the results. (The problem is, the results aren't very good right now.)

 

[BTTA]

While I don't necessarily disagree here, I'd say that I don't believe it's his ego at all. I just think he sees how obviously short his time has become and he wants to win as many SB's as he can before the ride is over. He knows how difficult it is and how little is the margin for error.

I don't think this is either/or at all. It is some of both - strategy and personal needs. The end is near, and his father's words about how it will end ("it is going to be ugly") remain in play. It is going to be hard for this guy to take the initiative to give it up, to recognize when he should, and let go. That's an inevitable aspect of his excellence. So his emotions are leaking out a bit as he talks about this year in real time. We can call it "whining" but that's more a reflection of us than of him.

 

[PatsBoy12]

He's playing very well. The deficiencies of his receiving group and offensive line are most apparent in the red zone, where the Patriots have been uncharacteristically inefficient this year, 23rd in the NFL at a 50% TD rate. (Buffalo is over 20 percentage points higher, i.e. Buffalo scores more than one touchdown compared to the Patriots every 5 attempts inside the 20. That's a big deal!)

Missing Gronk in particular in the red zone, both as target and blocker, and Develin as a blocker and up-ball carrier. I think Patterson was a bigger loss than people realize too, his Swiss Army knife abilities helped Brady read defenses. Hopefully Harry will make a difference at the goal line.

I was on record as saying I wanted them to retain Patterson. The Bears, however, offered him far more money than I think the Pats would have felt comfortable offering.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

“The Pats are a fraud; Brady is washed up; the defense has been feasting on bad teams; Pats wont make it to SB...”

In a way, the loss is a good motivation

 

[BelizePats]

With both Wynn and Harry coming back, this offense has to get better. I'd like to think that these additions will have a ripple effect across the entire offense.
We know all about Newhouse and his deficiencies but I am really puzzled by and concerned about the overall regression to date, of the right side of the Oline.

 

[aluminum seats]

A healthy Wynn will create an instant improvement. Offensive lines work very much as a unit, and they can make up for one missing piece, like Andrews, but two becomes untenable. So a healthy Wynn will be transformative.

Harry will only help if the Patriots make a concerted effort to take the training wheels off quick.

 

[primetime]

I was on record as saying I wanted them to retain Patterson. The Bears, however, offered him far more money than I think the Pats would have felt comfortable offering.

The Patriots offense clicked best on plays when he went in motion last year. The way the defense played his motion greatly aided Brady's pre-snap reads. Wouldn't be shocking, given the size and YAC ability, that they valued Harry in the draft as a sort of Super Patterson, because unlike Patterson he can actually run routes and catch the ball.