If I'm a corner playing against Brandon Lloyd or Dieon Branch. Im getting up in their face at the line and getting my hands on them. Im playing anything underneath 1st and over the top 2nd. I'll give them a step on anything down the field because I know they won't run away from me. Defenses obviously have to defend the entire field but against us the most certainly can and do cheat up.
It's sounds good in principle, but if it were that simple then we wouldn't be setting records every year in different offensive categories.
You aren't taking into account how much of that is offset by superior playcalling or scheme design.
You also aren't taking into account how important Gronkowski would have been in attacking the Ravens nickel defense with the running attack, which is yet another way to make teams choose their poison and will likely be more effective moving forward.
I think we all would like a younger and more complete WR (including BB), but we are not necessarily agreeing on the right way to acquire that kind of player. We are also not agreeing on the level of "need" that the offense has for this player either, so that is a popular debate.
What do you mean if it were that simple? What am I claiming as simple. The offensive is historic partially due to the fact the NFL has become a passing league and primarily due to the fact that we have the best QB in football, The best TE in football, another top 5 TE, the slot machine and the best offensive line coach in football making sure 12 has time to do what he has to do. I never referenced the AFCCG so I don't know how the leap was made that I'm selling short the loss of Gronk. .
I'm not really sure what I said that is confusing you, but I'll try to explain myself better. Keep in mind we are probably in agreement for the most part, besides some of the specifics.
If it were as simple as other teams getting in their faces and cheating up the the LOS, then how did they average 36 points a game this year? Like I said it sounds good in principle, but it just isn't that simple. Obviously talent is going to come into play too, as teams like SEA with better CBs are going to make things more difficult, and that's also likely what is sometimes happening in the playoffs as well, we're seeing more complete defenses and schemes that are well thought out. Sometimes you just have to give credit to the other guys too.
I believe that Belichick and McDaniels know the limitations of their receivers, and that is why superior scheme design and playcalling are so important to our success. Our offense is predicated upon cerebral strengths starting at the QB, who is probably better than any other in the game at reading and adjusting to the opposition's alignment. The object is to take advantage of personnel mismatches and pre-snap reads and adjustments, which is also another reason why it's important for everyone to be on the same page so they can read the same things. Things like this are some of the reasons why Welker is able to get open despite being double covered, or Brady is able to look good with horrible receiving options (not claiming any specifics or years). They are able to outfox the defense and react quicker than their opponent in many of the cases. It isn't just about depending upon Llyod to beat his coverage, or worrying about who is cheating up to the LOS.
Our current offense was set up to allow Brady to have the quickest release in all of football this year, at 2.47 seconds per average throw. That obviously makes the offensive line look good, hides their weaknesses, and takes advantage of quick mismatches within the 2-3 second window where Welker and the shorter route runners make their living.
If we acquired a deep threat WR (I agree with you that we could use an upgrade for a more physical WR, and I agree that having the kinds of speed and skills would make an overall "complete" receiver, so we're on the same page there) Brady would not necessarily be able to take advantage of these traits as much, which would probably lead to more QB hits, more forced throws (Moss 2009 and 2010) and also more turnovers.
As far as referencing Gronk, I meant as an offset to what you were claiming happens to the outside receivers (cheating up and playing more physical). Obviously he offsets some of those problems by stretching the field and catching passes down the seam, which opens things up just as much as a guy like Anquan Bolden (a popular choice lately for example) would do, and possibly even better because he has more of a size advantage which creates more mismatches. I didn't mean to imply that you were suggesting anything about Gronk in general, I was just using him as an example to how we currently have a player who makes other teams have to choose their poison.
My example of the Ravens game was just to point out how that would have been a lot more useful both in the pass and run.
Like I said, we're in agreement with needing a better receiver, and I would have to guess that it's so obvious Belichick wants it too. I just think that we need to keep in mind that it needs to either be done in the draft or through a lower level move which would be cost efficient, which is also what I believe you suggest as well in your last post.
Hopefully they draft a guy in the first couple of picks and also take their chances on some of the lesser known names in free agency too, but I expect at least one/two better receivers this year if you include the upgrade from Branch also.
