It’s so obvious that Brady is injured; not sure why Occam’s razor doesn’t work here. Are there some big problems with protection and the skill players? Yes. Does that explain why an offense that historically finishes in the top 10, even under the worst circumstances (injuries/lack of talent) is now arguably the very worst offense in the league since around week 4?
The guy is probably the most skilled athlete I’ve ever seen at concealing pain and injuries. He’s played through so many in the past that you only found out about after the season. He frequently lies to the media and says he isn’t injured seriously when he is (like when he said his knee was fine last year after that stupid receiving play.). He doesn’t even grimace; he gets concussed and avoids showing any signs of it. So when he shows up at a presser with his elbows wrapped with like 20 layers of athletic tape, there’s probably a reason for that. Yes, a bad injury to the right elbow of a quarterback is going to effect his play.
All of these things are correct. Receivers aren’t getting a lot of separation, are running the wrong routes, dropping passes, the offensive line is struggling, the running game is struggling, etc., but football is also a sport where there are domino effects. Example, when teams aren’t afraid the QB will slice them up, they’ll focus more on the run. When teams can see a QB/WR corps aren’t communicating well they are going to blitz more. At the heart of this, I think Brady’s injury is most responsible for the offensive problems, and hopefully it heals up and we see very different results. Suddenly this “lack of separation” will be enough separation after all, the pass rush won’t be so effective (since he’s being beaten by his inaccuracy and hesitance to throw into tight windows), and the newer guys like Sanu, Meyes, and Harry may get some momentum going. It can change fast. Brady seemed to indicate in his comments this week that things are about to change. I take that to mean he’s finally healthy enough to be Brady again and carry an offense, like he’s done throughout his career.