Injuries perhaps shouldn't be considered an "excuse" for ongoing woes -- especially when not itemized on the official injury report -- but they very well might be key to the Pats offense being so out of sync. We know how BB likes to skirt the issue and just because a player who WAS on the injury report no longer is doesn't mean he's fully recovered.
Going by official reports, performances and observations by "connected" folks like Greg Bedard, subpar play by offensive front-liners and the unit overall likely is injury related.
Quarterback:
Brady -- most folks dismiss him arriving on the injury report with various nicks (toe, shoulder, etc.). But word is he has a serious problem with his throwing arm elbow, affecting accuracy. This is compounded by Patriot receivers leading the league in drops.
Wide receiver:
Edelman -- a walking MASH unit.
Sanu -- high ankle sprain, the worst kind.
Dorsett -- hamstring, might explain his late-season disappearing act.
Offensive line:
Cannon -- had shoulder injury earlier this season, also unspecified illness; has not looked good overall.
Mason -- reportedly has been battling serious ankle problems all season, also having a bad year.
Karras -- very average player now with bad knee (Andrews is sorely missed at this position).
Wynn -- his return from IR suggests his turf toe is fully healed, but is it?
Tight end:
LaCosse -- was shelved for weeks with knee problem.
Fullback:
Both on IR.
It's worth remembering that injuries also factor into practice preparation where timing and chemistry are honed. In other words, we probably shouldn't expect significant offensive improvement until guys get healthier. At this point a playoff bye seems crucial, which means beating Buffalo and Miami to close out the regular season.
Greg Bedard has been caught lying and is far from "connected". That's pretty funny.
I had an email exchange with him last year and embarrassed the crap out of him to the point he blocked me from pointing out how it was not the personnel last year (seems to be a common them to bash BB the GM), and it was HOW it was being used.
Voila, McD and Brady wake up, BB intervened, and we win the SB.
When Bedard took over for Breer (another beaute) in 2010 or 2011 I think, he took on the Breer angle of basically disrespecting BB, asking annoying questions, while coming off like some know it all.
Bedard knows less about this sport than I do and likely some others here. He just has a job where he gets to write and be paid for it. He kept citing pieces from his dumb Athletic thing and told me to pay to read the rest, and this was after I bludgeoned him with facts up and down. He got all insecure and ran off. Hilarious. I still have the emails.
I remember one time Bedard said Vollmer wasn't a good RT, but in his rookie year in 2009 he played LT since Light was hurt and dominated Dwight Freeney on national tv. Vollmer was probably the best RT in the conference from 2009-2015.
It's just hilarious how wrong he is and how he'll try to make it seem like BB does not do a good job with personnel and depth.
With what happened to NE in 2013 and 2015, injury wise and how decimated they were, if BB didn't have solid depth like has this year. Some guys don't even play week to week!
Most teams wouldn't even make the playoffs with the offense NE had in 2013 and their entire middle of their D on IR, let alone the title game.
