2012/2013 Passing - A Slightly Different View

[mgteich]

I thought that I would restructure the analysis a bit with our lack of 2 top tight ends. And yes, we could run more. However, given that we were the #7 running team in the league, that opportunity seems somewhat limited. We were #3 in running this past week, so it is possible.

TIGHT ENDS (65 for 996)

This excludes Hernandez who was used a more of a WR. In any case, I have moved Hernandez to WR's. We are likely to emphasize more 1 TE sets this year, so it seems right to move the production to the WR's

Gronkowski 55 790
Others 10 206

This is not too huge a goal for this years tight ends.
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RUNNING BACKS (56 for 677)

This is almost 5 catches a game for running backs. This will be a challenge in the first part of the year. Washington may be able to fill the void, or not.
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WIDE RECEIVERS (280, 3118)

Hernandez is included here since his production needs to be met by wide receivers.

Welker 118 1354
Lloyd 74 911
Hernandez 51 483
Edelman/Branch 37 370

This our challenge. Can the kids step up (at least one)? Can Edelman stay healthy?

 

[dales804]

It's obviously tough to replace the production that's gone. Thankfully Gronk will be back at some point and hopefully remain healthy throughout the year. One thought I have is on the number of plays. I believe the Patriots ran the most plays in the NFL last year. They ran the most in week 1 of this year. Will that pace continue or will they dial it down and focus more on the run to march them down the field? I know they were 7th in the NFL in rushing last year and second in rushing attempts per game. If they dial down the number of total plays they run per game but continue rushing, maybe that helps.

Brady is clearly the best player on the Patriots and taking the ball out of his hands, so to speak, isn't smart. But the offense needs to move the ball. I don't know where they're going in terms of offensive philosophy, especially with all the injuries, but I think we'll see a lot of running tonight.

So Brady will probably throw it 52 times...