How long can the Patriots offense be 1 dimensional once it gets cold and snowy?

[aluminum seats]

This team just has so many weapons, they can gameplan for any kind of physical environment. Remember, Buffalo scored bunches by the bushel in the nineties, and it's not exactly Palm Beach up there. In real bad weather, you might see some shorter routs, more Faulk, more Watson, etc., but the points will come.

Remember too, when the weather turns both teams play in the same conditions--any weather that adversely affects the Pats' attack will doubly hurt any other offensive squad.

 

[spacecrime]

Re: How long can the Patriots offense be 1 dimentional once it gets cold and snowy?

In the 2001 Snow Bowl game passing went better than running.

I know. I always hear how you can't pass in the winter, but I never notice in games where teams don't pass.

Usually when people use the "It stand to reason that we should expect ..." mode of thinking they are wrong because coordinators aren't reasonable. At least the good coordinators aren't. Their game plans are unexpected and unanticipated.

It's a self-correcting situation. Team A figures that Team B will rush and loads up the box, so Team B passes. Snow Bowl, Fog Bowl, Ice Bowl, Whatever Winter Bowl. Teams passed in all of them.

Any team that schemes to stop the Pats from running, no matter what the season, is going to lose.

 

[BWareofDWare]

Re: How long can the Patriots offense be 1 dimentional once it gets cold and snowy?

Poor weather conditions actually usually help the weather condition as long as there is a quarterback like Brady at the helm who has the arm to deal with it. The speed of the receivers is not hurt as much as the speed of the pass rushers is.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

Our passing game is making our running game work.

As long as we have the passing game, or a reasonable threat of a passing game even in rough conditions, it will be respected.

That opens up the running game. We have enough decent guys to get the job done. Any decent running back can get big YPC in our offense. Nobody would dare to load the box against us with our passing attack (except maybe Dallas ).

It is like the Dolts all these years, when you can't stay in the box to defend them, they run the ball effectively. We now have that luxury, and who our running back is becomes less important the further the defenders are from the LOS.

Of course the obvious answer is that if Maroney is healthy, we have a running game. And two solid back-ups assuming Morris gets back.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Re: How long can the Patriots offense be 1 dimentional once it gets cold and snowy?

Are you guys trying to find things to worry about?

The Patriots have 850 rushing yards this season. Do you know where that ranks among NFL teams? 1st out of 32 teams.

Well yeah... but you know. If there's nothing to whine about, then it's too good to be true. Typical New Englander pessimism here?
I suppose the injuries to Morris and Maroney are a concern but when those guys get healthy, the NE rushing attack will be just fine. The offensive line seems to be thriving this year, one of the best in overall protection. They seem to be taking very well to the new zone blocking scheme.

 

[Ring 6]

I disagree with the two main premises of the thread:

1) The Patriots are a one-dimensional team. They're not. AT ALL. They didn't run the ball last week but they ran it 29 times. And we're ranked 7th overall in rushing.

2) It's hard to maintain a passing game in the snow. In some ways it's EASIER to pass in the snow, especially if you're used to (and practicing in) the conditions. The Pats will have a big advantage in the passing game.

Bad weather favors a passing offense. If the footing is bad the defense it more affected, because they are reacting, while the receivers know where they are going.
Bad weather only doesnt favor the pass offense when the conditions, mostly heavy wind, or driving rain, make it difficult to throw the ball. Cold or snow wont do that.

 

[Ring 6]

Oh, and of course, its stupid to have a thead about the Patriots being 1 dimensional when they are the most balanced team in the league.

 

[patchick]

Re: How long can the Patriots offense be 1 dimentional once it gets cold and snowy?

The running game looked excellent until the Dallas game, when by Wade Phillips' own account he chose to shut down Sammy Morris and dare the Patriots to beat him with nothing but Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker and Benjamin Watson.

Umm...pardon me a second...



...ok, back now. The point is that the Cowboys focused on the run to the tune of 48 points allowed. 48! I mean, that's a point per hour for two whole days. One point for every state in the union, assuming it's still 1957. A point for every piece in the Well-Tempered Clavier, for crying out loud!

Which is to say, I don't think other teams are likely to look at the Cowboys' game plan and say "cool, we can stop the run!" Facing a more balanced defense, the Patriots should deliver a more balanced offense.

 

[RoughingthePasser]

1 dimensional?

Eckyl, Evans and Faulk are big boys-they can handle it until we get Sammy and Lawrence back.

No worries!

 

[mgteich]

It seems that many of you agree with the media. Why bother to play the games? Just give us the rings!

IMHO, we DO have a potential issue with regard to our running game. We have Maroney and Morris injured. Why do we believe that all our running backs will be at 100% in December? It seems most unlikely.

Some here seem fine with Evans and Eckel as our runners, with Faulk. I don't know where you get your koolaid. Evans and Eckel should not even be mentioned in the same sentence as Smith. He was a fine, dependable RUNNING BACK. Eckel is a wannabe who MAY good enough by December to replace Evans if he is injured. Evans is not a very good runner at all. This is NOT a knock on Evans. I wouldn't want Vrabel running the ball either.

We are NOT a one-dimensional team. That is NOT the issue. The issue is whether this team is well-equipped to grind in out in the snow. It is simply non-responsive to say that Brady will do it all. I have every confidence in our passing game. It would be good to count on our running game in the snow.

Perhaps I shouldn't say this, but I think HFA advantage means little against the colts. The Brady Bunch is MADE for dome play. It took the whole defense to have the flu for Brady to lose even ONE game in a dome. Brady has won all the rest with weak receivers. To think that Brady would prefer to play in the snow with this group is just plain silly. IMHO, we match up much better against the colts playing in Indy than in Foxboro.

 

[TruthSeeker]

How long can the Patriots offense be 1 dimensional once it gets cold and snowy?

Well, the running game should keep chugging along. Hopefully, we'll be able to put together some semblance of a passing game, too.

 

[patchick]

It seems that many of you agree with the media. Why bother to play the games? Just give us the rings!

....

We are NOT a one-dimensional team. That is NOT the issue.

Well, the subject of this thread was "How long can the Patriots offense be 1 dimensional"! The vast majority of the posts in this thread were countering the implied claim in that subject. Why deride people for disagreeing with it if you don't believe it yourself?

IF we hit a stretch of games with neither Maroney nor Morris, that's big trouble, bad weather or no. No team can lose its 2 top RBs without concern. But that hasn't happened yet, and it's a stretch to assume it will happen, just as it's a stretch to assume that Kyle Eckel can be a featured back in the NFL.

I'm equally concerned with the short passing game, given that the top 2 receiving tight ends actually ARE out.

 

[spacecrime]

We are NOT a one-dimensional team. That is NOT the issue. The issue is whether this team is well-equipped to grind in out in the snow. It is simply non-responsive to say that Brady will do it all.

Well, yeah, if your base assumption is that when it snows you will never pass and only run, sure. But that is faulty. Go back and watch the snow bowl. See what was more effective, running in the snow or passing in the snow.

 

[carolinatony]

As good as the passing game has been I still think a good running game will be needed to carry us to the SB. So far our running game has not been what it could/can be.

 

[Deus Irae]

As good as the passing game has been I still think a good running game will be needed to carry us to the SB. So far our running game has not been what it could/can be.

The running game of the New England Patriots is currently 7th in the league in yards per game and 14th in yards per attempt, despite the absence of Maroney, the injury to Morris, and the prediliction to use what is probably the best passing attack in the NFL right now.

 

[Ring 6]

It seems that many of you agree with the media. Why bother to play the games? Just give us the rings!

IMHO, we DO have a potential issue with regard to our running game. We have Maroney and Morris injured. Why do we believe that all our running backs will be at 100% in December? It seems most unlikely.

Some here seem fine with Evans and Eckel as our runners, with Faulk. I don't know where you get your koolaid. Evans and Eckel should not even be mentioned in the same sentence as Smith. He was a fine, dependable RUNNING BACK. Eckel is a wannabe who MAY good enough by December to replace Evans if he is injured. Evans is not a very good runner at all. This is NOT a knock on Evans. I wouldn't want Vrabel running the ball either.

We are NOT a one-dimensional team. That is NOT the issue. The issue is whether this team is well-equipped to grind in out in the snow. It is simply non-responsive to say that Brady will do it all. I have every confidence in our passing game. It would be good to count on our running game in the snow.

Perhaps I shouldn't say this, but I think HFA advantage means little against the colts. The Brady Bunch is MADE for dome play. It took the whole defense to have the flu for Brady to lose even ONE game in a dome. Brady has won all the rest with weak receivers. To think that Brady would prefer to play in the snow with this group is just plain silly. IMHO, we match up much better against the colts playing in Indy than in Foxboro.

Are you saying that Faulk/Eckel/Evans is a weak backfield? If so, I agree. Or are you saying with Maroney and/or Morris we still aren't equipped for cold weather football? That I disagree with.
Any team will be weak at the RB positon if you discount both the starter and the backup.
As far as playing in weather conditions, I think its a misconception that the advantage goes to a running team. In inclement weather a good passing game has an advantage over a pass defense. A WR running a route has a clearcut advantage over a defender reacting to the route to cover him in poor footing. If there are 40 mph winds that are impossible to throw into, then yes, you won't do much in the passing game, but rain or snow helps a pass offense otherwise.
As far as homefield vs the Colts, I would disagree with your comments.
While the argument that the Patriot offense would be tougher to stop in a dome on turf, may be a strong one, the same holds for the Colts. However if you put both offenses in an outdoor game in January that is affected by the conditions, the Colts would be hurt worse. First, we are not set up where we must throw to execute a game plan, where they are, and secondly, there is absolutely no doubt Brady will perform better in poor conditions than Manning will. If Bradys performance is hindered by weather, Mannings would be more hindered.

 

[Ring 6]

As good as the passing game has been I still think a good running game will be needed to carry us to the SB. So far our running game has not been what it could/can be.

Prior to the last game the Patriots were averaging 155 yards a game on the gournd. How much better could/can they be than that? And do they really need to be?
I don't think we should be judging the running game on basically one half of football, particularly a half where we threw the ball extremely well. In the second half of the Dallas game we actually ran the ball well, with Faulk our 3rd stringer in the game.

 

[carolinatony]

We need another Dillion at RB that will get those 2/3 yrds up the middle like he did. Thats my kind of runner.

 

[mgteich]

I like Morris a lot as a horse in cold weather, so with Morris healthy, I am fine with our chances in cold weather. However, as I have said many times, I would prefer a much better 5th running back on the team than Eckel. I would have drafted a running back or picked up a short yardage running back in free agency. But no matter, Morris is much better than expected, and we will be fine.

It is the wind, the cold and the mud that favors a running team. I agree that in rainy conditions, the passing game has a decided advantage.

My argument regarding the dome is simple. I think that our offense would be about even in the dome. I believe that the patriots defense would have a decided advantage over Indy. In poor conditions, anything can happen. If I had my choice, I would like to have a stronger running game playing in the snow and wind.

Are you saying that Faulk/Eckel/Evans is a weak backfield? If so, I agree. Or are you saying with Maroney and/or Morris we still aren't equipped for cold weather football? That I disagree with.
Any team will be weak at the RB positon if you discount both the starter and the backup.
As far as playing in weather conditions, I think its a misconception that the advantage goes to a running team. In inclement weather a good passing game has an advantage over a pass defense. A WR running a route has a clearcut advantage over a defender reacting to the route to cover him in poor footing. If there are 40 mph winds that are impossible to throw into, then yes, you won't do much in the passing game, but rain or snow helps a pass offense otherwise.
As far as homefield vs the Colts, I would disagree with your comments.
While the argument that the Patriot offense would be tougher to stop in a dome on turf, may be a strong one, the same holds for the Colts. However if you put both offenses in an outdoor game in January that is affected by the conditions, the Colts would be hurt worse. First, we are not set up where we must throw to execute a game plan, where they are, and secondly, there is absolutely no doubt Brady will perform better in poor conditions than Manning will. If Bradys performance is hindered by weather, Mannings would be more hindered.

 

[patsox23]

Bad weather favors a passing offense. If the footing is bad the defense it more affected, because they are reacting, while the receivers know where they are going.
Bad weather only doesnt favor the pass offense when the conditions, mostly heavy wind, or driving rain, make it difficult to throw the ball. Cold or snow wont do that.

Um...my point exactly. I was posting about my disagreement with the premise of the thread. But if you're merely extending that argument, then ignore me and know that I agree.