No Panic Necessary, Patriots To Stay the Course With the Offense in 2019

No Panic Necessary, Patriots To Stay the Course With the Offense in 2019

Steve Balestrieri

The Patriots offense has been scuffling along for the majority of the 2019 season and we’re now three-quarters of the way through. The team s...

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We haven't seen Tom Brady anywhere close to as frustrated and disappointed in his entire career as he has been this year.

When Tom Brady starts the game 9 for 25 that is definitely reason for panic.

Think about what that means, in today's NFL 50% is bad. So 9 of 25 is like him throwing 50% (9 for 18) and then throwing 7 straight incompletions after that. ......in perfect passing conditions.

Look, I'm not declaring the season over. There is still hope that they can improve, but to merely overlook it as 'they'll figure it out, they always do' may be more optimistic than realistic.

Every year they've figured it out by this point in the season.

brdmaverick said:

We haven't seen Tom Brady anywhere close to as frustrated and disappointed in his entire career as he has been this year.

When Tom Brady starts the game 9 for 25 that is definitely reason for panic.

Think about what that means, in today's NFL 50% is bad. So 9 of 25 is like him throwing 50% (9 for 18) and then throwing 7 straight incompletions after that. ......in perfect passing conditions.

Look, I'm not declaring the season over. There is still hope that they can improve, but to merely overlook it as 'they'll figure it out, they always do' may be more optimistic than realistic.

Every year they've figured it out by this point in the season.

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Last year by this point in the season they were losing back to back games to fall to 9-5, the defense was shredded by Miami and the offense shut down by Pittsburgh.

Ring 6 said:

Last year by this point in the season they were losing back to back games to fall to 9-5, the defense was shredded by Miami and the offense shut down by Pittsburgh.

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This year just feels different.

Ring 6 said:

Last year by this point in the season they were losing back to back games to fall to 9-5, the defense was shredded by Miami and the offense shut down by Pittsburgh.

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... and then Josh Gordon got suspended

Ladypatsfan said:

This year just feels different.

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Ugh

Nehalem said:

... and then Josh Gordon got suspended

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It’s funny because the team that thrives on overcoming adversity, almost is better when it is stricken with adversity, has a fan base that can’t wait to run around saying it’s over, this is it, they are done, and give up on them.

Ring 6 said:

Last year by this point in the season they were losing back to back games to fall to 9-5, the defense was shredded by Miami and the offense shut down by Pittsburgh.

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Yes but in the Miami game the Patriots had THREE 75 yard non garbage time TD drives ( unlike Tom's Garbage time drives vs Houston), and had FIVE scoring drives of over 50 yards... They've done that ONCE all season... In game one vs Pittsburgh

They really don’t have any choice except “stay the course” with the trade deadline over. And it’s too late for AB at this point as he’d just get suspended. The offense is what it is. Here’s where they can improve:

• Brady does not look healthy and many times in the past we’ve learned subpar play was the result of an injury; his play took a very sudden plunge around week 5 after starting the season red hot. I have confidence he will be fully ready for the postseason though, as he knows how to manage his healing process. But this first point is a big assumption and also has big implications on how fixable the offense is. If this is Brady’s absolute best, it’s going to be really hard to turn things around. If he’s being hindered, he might not be able to make a lot of plays he normally would, including throwing guys open and putting the ball into tight windows.
• LaCosse may be rounding into an adequate, if unflashy, tight end. But there’s really no previous evidence of him being a good player in the past, so it’s hard to say what his ceiling is.
• I think Meyers is a really gifted wide receiver and Brady is coming to trust him more. He has great abilities (it’s amazing he went undrafted) and I think he’s the best “late breakout” candidate they’ve had in a while on offense. His mistakes are almost always about route running and timing and almost never due to physical ability. He has great instincts and hands when the ball is anywhere near him. It’s frustrating because I think he will be a really good WR in the league, probably by next season, and you wish you could speed up the learning process.
• Sanu is recovering from a high ankle sprain, and he could potentially regain some speed and quickness over the next month or two. Those injuries suck and take a long time to heal, but we don’t know the grade of the sprain, etc. That he’s already back on the field suggests it’s not the worst one (like Gronk had in the SB.)
• Edelman is obviously injured pretty badly and is gutting it out, but he’s still a huge asset and I wouldn’t expect him to fully heal based on reports. This looks like something he’ll just have to play through considering all the hits he takes on his shoulder. Reports are that he can’t lift his harms above his head...sounds like offseason surgery might be the case here.
• Burkhead also looks very slow and not himself. He’s a valuable player when full speed.
• Roberts is just learning the fullback position and should improve.

So, that’s what I see as the potential improvements, which are mostly based on some injury speculation and the hope that some guys are improving and getting healthier. Unfortunately when that happens, we often have other guys who are injured in their place. But if Brady is indeed not healthy and can get there, and either Meyers or Sanu can really become consistent threats, that could change the offense a lot. Dorsett becomes better when he’s not the second WR defenses look to stop. White and Edelman wouldn’t be doubled on every play. Big domino effects are possible in football and happen often.

Ladypatsfan said:

This year just feels different.

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That was a common saying last year too along with they cant win the super bowl if they have to go on the road.

Well, at least they aren’t peaking too early. We’ve seen this before. I even think Bellichick holds stuff back during the season. A lot of the troubles are coachable mistakes. The Pats will do it again.