It's time to open up the offense

[SalemPats]

I know we're running the ball well and controlling the clock, but without Gronk we lack that physical option, especially on 3rd down play. It's time we start throwing more on early downs and let Brady take over. A bit more no huddle and 3 WR sets to utilize our speed and let Brady take advantage of mismatches. It seems like we are a bit predictable

 

[English Patriot]

I know we're running the ball well and controlling the clock, but without Gronk we lack that physical option, especially on 3rd down play. It's time we start throwing more on early downs and let Brady take over. A bit more no huddle and 3 WR sets to utilize our speed and let Brady take advantage of mismatches. It seems like we are a bit predictable

You know there was no Dobson or Thompkins today right? Trust me this is not week 1,2,3 pre Gronk offense. They have learnt IMMENSELY and are going to surprise the hell out of the Ravens next week.

Brady is putting up 300 yards minimum from here on out because the weapons that he has 'GET IT' now where as before they didn't. Those young dudes will add length to the passing game and hopefully next week they will be healthy to show.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

You know there was no Dobson or Thompkins today right? Trust me this is not week 1,2,3 pre Gronk offense. They have learnt IMMENSELY and are going to surprise the hell out of the Ravens next week.

Brady is putting up 300 yards minimum from here on out because the weapons that he has 'GET IT' now where as before they didn't. Those young dudes will add length to the passing game and hopefully next week they will be healthy to show.

Dude I am getting pumped up for the end of the season. Dola and Edelman are great targets to get us to the oppositions 10. We just need Dobson and KT to go up and get the ball. I think Hooman can be a good RZ target if we give him a chance.

Time to unleash the beasts!!!

 

[hwc]

IA bit more no huddle and 3 WR sets to utilize our speed and let Brady take advantage of mismatches. It seems like we are a bit predictable

In all fairness to the coaching staff, I don't think the New England Patriots have many mismatches right now. On offense in the second half, they were playing without their #1 tight end, their 2 starting tackles, and three wide receivers.

I actually thought the offense moved the ball OK today under pretty dire circumstances. They just needed to punch the ball in for a TD a couple more times.

 

[SVN]

If we open up the offense with solder and vollmer out, this will be SB 42 redux. Brady will get pummeled up front, especially with no deep threat.
I maintain , they need to get back to ridley. He is their most dynamic back and better in the RZ than most.

 

[Observer]

Problems for this offense start and end with the O line. With this weak unit, they cannot run into the end zone and they cant block long enough for a deep pass. And they show no sign of improving. Put enough pass rush on Brady and the Pats are done.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Hard to open the O when KT Dobson and Gronk are all out. Hopefully KT and Dobson are back next week so we can see some deeper routes. They are perfect for those fade routes int he EZ

 

[supafly]

I know we're running the ball well and controlling the clock, but without Gronk we lack that physical option, especially on 3rd down play. It's time we start throwing more on early downs and let Brady take over. A bit more no huddle and 3 WR sets to utilize our speed and let Brady take advantage of mismatches. It seems like we are a bit predictable

23 carries for a total of 89 yds doesn't exactly scream "success" to me in the run game, but I get what you're saying as a whole. I actually think that we are lacking a consistent enough running game, and am hoping that may change is we quit ****ing around and go back to Stevan Ridley again.

As far as the 3 WR sets that are going to "utilize our speed," I'm having a hard time imagining that at the moment with Collie, Edelman, and Amendola combining with Hooman, Devlin, and Mulligan in the passing game. It didn't sound like either one of Dobson or Thompkins was ready to go, nor do I think that we'll have BOTH back next week myself. Either way, Boyce dropped 3 more passes today, and Miami completely shut down the option of going to Vereen (honestly, what did we expect them to try and do?).

I'm not really seeing these mismatches that you're speaking of, especially when Brady has to get rid of the ball as soon as he receives the snap. Our offensive line has been having issues as it is with Nate Solder, let alone without Nate Solder. I think we'll see some more targets here and there in the intermediate routes if/when the opportunity presents itself, but it's going to be hard to take advantage of our "speed" and "mismatches" too often in my opinion. That fact that we're predictable is an understatement.

Miami ?D? silences Vereen | Boston Herald

 

[Hael]

Boyce dropping those passes was like a timewarp back to the beginning of the season when KT, Amendola and Dobson were dropping them left and right.

Rookies and new guys simply take some time to gell and to get confidence. Otherwise there are too many mistakes (and mistakes are more important than whatever extra skills they bring to the table)

If you have too many of those guys in at the same time, you end up with games that look like Detroit in the preseason or the Cinci massacre. Eg too many drive killing mistakes that happen in too many different places.

Unfortunately, we only have Vereen and Edelman as really dependable targets. Amendola is getting there (but still drops too many) and KT and AD were getting better but still just rookies.

 

[Deus Irae]

The Patriots are currently so thin at the WR position that their WR3 is a player who probably should be on a practice squad.

The Patriots are currently so battered along the OL that they had to move their LG to LT, their RG to LT, had their ORT2 starting, and found themselves in a position where their former starting LG was playing best OT the team's had played for it all season long. Meanwhile, the RG who moved to LG showed, once again, that he really can't play LG.

The TEs that are currently playing are about as non-pass receiving as a group of TEs can get.

With all that, how the hell do the Patriots open up the offense and not get Brady killed? The Dolphins just shut down the team by doubling the RB and letting the best WRs the team had do as much as they could against backup CBs.


The real shame of it all is that, even with all that happening, the team could have won if one of any number of likely/plausible actions had happened, including catches in the end zone, penalties being properly called, and the like.

 

[ivanvamp]

The Patriots are currently so thin at the WR position that their WR3 is a player who probably should be on a practice squad.

The Patriots are currently so battered along the OL that they had to move their LG to LT, their RG to LT, had their ORT2 starting, and found themselves in a position where their former starting LG was playing best OT the team's had played for it all season long. Meanwhile, the RG who moved to LG showed, once again, that he really can't play LG.

The TEs that are currently playing are about as non-pass receiving as a group of TEs can get.

With all that, how the hell do the Patriots open up the offense and not get Brady killed? The Dolphins just shut down the team by doubling the RB and letting the best WRs the team had do as much as they could against backup CBs.


The real shame of it all is that, even with all that happening, the team could have won if one of any number of likely/plausible actions had happened, including catches in the end zone, penalties being properly called, and the like.

Given what this team has gone through (injuries, #81, etc.) this season, and given what you just listed above, anyone that takes a crap on this team should be flogged. They're playing a ton of guys hurt right now because everyone else is out or on IR (so they're *really* out). Just a couple of weeks ago they had to start 5 rookies on defense. And yet this team is in every game, winning (or losing) in the most exciting/excruciating fashion imaginable.

How anyone could be a fan of the Patriots and not appreciate what this particular team has done this year is beyond me. They've given us everything they possibly can.

 

[shmessy]

I know we're running the ball well and controlling the clock, but without Gronk we lack that physical option, especially on 3rd down play. It's time we start throwing more on early downs and let Brady take over. A bit more no huddle and 3 WR sets to utilize our speed and let Brady take advantage of mismatches. It seems like we are a bit predictable

I fully disagree with this and would say the Patriots actually did what you want yesterday - - and it was strategically disastrous.

The Patriots did not run ENOUGH yesterday. As I wrote before the game in the game thread, McDaniels should have gone heavy run all game long in 86 degree weather so as to help our D not fatigue down the stretch (which, unfortunately is precisely what happened).

Look up the stat line. The Pats offense was 55 pass-22 run even though the running game averaged 4.4 ypc. Running more often would have allowed our D not to get gassed playing in the dark unis in the heat (The Phins know what they are doing with that).

It was patently obvious. McDaniels was being a stubborn $%**# trying to prove something with Brady throwing 55 times to a WR corps made up of 1 good pass catching RB, 2 slot receivers and ????????.

 

[condon84]

It's crazy how we're not playing our usual uptempo no huddle offense.

It's a great way to slow down a pass rush. With Edelman, Amendola, and Vereen, that's 3 guys who can create space quickly between them and defenders. Throw Boyce or Collie in there and that's a pretty good 4 for an uptempo game.

We can still run it out of this formation as well. Matter of fact, our running game has been one of the best the past few years running it in this type of offense.

 

[Brady6]

I know we're running the ball well and controlling the clock, but without Gronk we lack that physical option, especially on 3rd down play. It's time we start throwing more on early downs and let Brady take over. A bit more no huddle and 3 WR sets to utilize our speed and let Brady take advantage of mismatches. It seems like we are a bit predictable

Right now outside of Brady and Edelman most of our talent comes from the RBs. Injuries have depleted this offense.

Yesterday in the second half we were without:

Gronkowski
Dobson
Boyce
Thompkins

 

[ivanvamp]

I fully disagree with this and would say the Patriots actually did what you want yesterday - - and it was strategically disastrous.

The Patriots did not run ENOUGH yesterday. As I wrote before the game in the game thread, McDaniels should have gone heavy run all game long in 86 degree weather so as to help our D not fatigue down the stretch (which, unfortunately is precisely what happened).

Look up the stat line. The Pats offense was 55 pass-22 run even though the running game averaged 4.4 ypc. Running more often would have allowed our D not to get gassed playing in the dark unis in the heat (The Phins know what they are doing with that).

It was patently obvious. McDaniels was being a stubborn $%**# trying to prove something with Brady throwing 55 times to a WR corps made up of 1 good pass catching RB, 2 slot receivers and ????????.

Well, to be fair, they were playing from behind halfway through the fourth quarter. Their last 19 offensive plays were pass plays, meaning that their ratio was 36-22 up to that point. Still pass-heavy, but that's a huge difference from 55-22.

 

[Timbo717]

Obviously goes without saying (so I'll say it anyway, I guess) but they have to take what the defense gives them to an extent. When they shut down Vereen like they did you have to move to someone else, and the personnel available did not give them the ability to create enough space or increase the margin for error enough for inexperienced guys. I could see more interceptions if TB was trying to force it to get guys involved. Out of his ten interceptions at least two (maybe three?) have been last ditch efforts in the end zone where throwing the ball away really was not an option, which I think is one indication he's not forcing it.

I also have to give the Dolphins credit for shutting down Vereen...it was easier for them to do so given the injuries elsewhere but in my opinion it was still a success on their part as much as it was a failure on the offense. They saw the offensive line hurting and tried to capitalize on it. They saw the big weapon from the week before and shut it down. They noted some of the weaknesses on our defense and took advantage of them.

The defense is still the most worrisome part of this team to me.

 

[FirstAndGoal]

It's crazy how we're not playing our usual uptempo no huddle offense.

It's a great way to slow down a pass rush. With Edelman, Amendola, and Vereen, that's 3 guys who can create space quickly between them and defenders. Throw Boyce or Collie in there and that's a pretty good 4 for an uptempo game.

We can still run it out of this formation as well. Matter of fact, our running game has been one of the best the past few years running it in this type of offense.

Can't run it if the patchwork offense can't handle it.

 

[ivanvamp]

Obviously goes without saying (so I'll say it anyway, I guess) but they have to take what the defense gives them to an extent. When they shut down Vereen like they did you have to move to someone else, and the personnel available did not give them the ability to create enough space or increase the margin for error enough for inexperienced guys. I could see more interceptions if TB was trying to force it to get guys involved. Out of his ten interceptions at least two (maybe three?) have been last ditch efforts in the end zone where throwing the ball away really was not an option, which I think is one indication he's not forcing it.

I also have to give the Dolphins credit for shutting down Vereen...it was easier for them to do so given the injuries elsewhere but in my opinion it was still a success on their part as much as it was a failure on the offense. They saw the offensive line hurting and tried to capitalize on it. They saw the big weapon from the week before and shut it down. They noted some of the weaknesses on our defense and took advantage of them.

The defense is still the most worrisome part of this team to me.

On the road, against a pretty good defense (ranked #9 in points allowed), missing Gronk, Dobson, Thompkins, Solder, Vollmer, the Pats had 29 first downs and racked up 453 total yards. Twice they got inside the 5 yard line and had to settle for field goals. That's 6 instead of 14. And then that last drive they would have only needed 3 instead of 7. Plus Ghost missed what for him is a kick he normally makes.

Pats could easily have put up 30+ on Miami yesterday. They didn't, obviously, and that's why you play the game. But again, NE really can move the ball against pretty much anyone. Gotta punch it in at the end though.

 

[JMC00]

23 carries for a total of 89 yds doesn't exactly scream "success" to me in the run game

22 for 96, 4.4 avg

 

[chicowalker]

Well, to be fair, they were playing from behind halfway through the fourth quarter. Their last 19 offensive plays were pass plays, meaning that their ratio was 36-22 up to that point. Still pass-heavy, but that's a huge difference from 55-22.

Being behind doesn't mean you need to abandon the run -- especially when you're 1 score down. On the last drive they couldn't run it, but that was the only time it made sense to be pass-only.