Pros, Cons, and Everything In-Between

[ivanvamp]

Pros:
1. It's good to be 4-1 and atop the division. Just need to go 6-5 to finish at 10-6, which will probably be enough to win the AFC East.

2. The defense. #2 in the NFL in scoring, #16 in yardage, #6 in opponent passer rating, #3 in the AFC in takeaways. They're getting it done. Allowed just 36 points in the last two games, both on the road against 2012 playoff teams.

3. The punting and kicking games have both been good.

Cons:
1. The new offensive players. We know there will be growing pains, and I am optimistic. But there are WAY too many drops and bad routes. Even when Thompkins catches one over the middle, he juggles it, reducing his ability for YAC.

2. Tom Brady. He is a legendary player, but he is not playing well. I attribute much of it to the new receivers and Tom's lack of trust in them. But my goodness, he's made some BAD throws. Some really bad ones. Not only that, he's made some really bad decisions. Bad choices on interceptions, missing wide open guys downfield (i.e., passing it elsewhere), the fumbled snaps, everything. I love him as much as any fan can, and I still would rather have him than anyone else. But let's be honest: his play has not only been subpar for Tom Brady (that goes without saying); he's been subpar by NFL standards, period. 56.6%, 7 td, 3 int, 6.2 ypa, 80.5 rating, team averaging just 19.0 ppg. Not good.

3. Offensive line. They've allowed Brady to get hit a lot, and they haven't done a consistently good job opening up holes for the running game. Very disappointed in this group so far.

In-Between:
1. The schedule looks pretty favorable for the next few weeks. Home vs. NO will be very tough, but then four straight very winnable games: at NYJ, vs Mia, vs Pit, and then at Carolina. They *should* get to 8-2 after that stretch. Then it's just a 3-3 finish to get to 11-5, which should put them in good shape.

2. I *really* hope Gronk returns soon. They desperately need him, and it shows.

3. The hell with Aaron Hernandez, who, besides the horrible things he has done to people - you know, like killing them - royally screwed the Patriots over this and next year. Not having him hurts a lot more than I thought it would.

4. I'd like to see this Patriots offense at full strength, but it isn't going to happen I don't think. Just once, though, I'd like to see Amendola, Gronk, Vereen, etc., all on the field together and see what Brady can do with that. Maybe it'll happen for the playoffs, and the offense will get into high gear at that point.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Pros:
1. It's good to be 4-1 and atop the division. Just need to go 6-5 to finish at 10-6, which will probably be enough to win the AFC East.

2. The defense. #2 in the NFL in scoring, #16 in yardage, #6 in opponent passer rating, #3 in the AFC in takeaways. They're getting it done. Allowed just 36 points in the last two games, both on the road against 2012 playoff teams.

3. The punting and kicking games have both been good.

Cons:
1. The new offensive players. We know there will be growing pains, and I am optimistic. But there are WAY too many drops and bad routes. Even when Thompkins catches one over the middle, he juggles it, reducing his ability for YAC.

2. Tom Brady. He is a legendary player, but he is not playing well. I attribute much of it to the new receivers and Tom's lack of trust in them. But my goodness, he's made some BAD throws. Some really bad ones. Not only that, he's made some really bad decisions. Bad choices on interceptions, missing wide open guys downfield (i.e., passing it elsewhere), the fumbled snaps, everything. I love him as much as any fan can, and I still would rather have him than anyone else. But let's be honest: his play has not only been subpar for Tom Brady (that goes without saying); he's been subpar by NFL standards, period. 56.6%, 7 td, 3 int, 6.2 ypa, 80.5 rating, team averaging just 19.0 ppg. Not good.

3. Offensive line. They've allowed Brady to get hit a lot, and they haven't done a consistently good job opening up holes for the running game. Very disappointed in this group so far.

In-Between:
1. The schedule looks pretty favorable for the next few weeks. Home vs. NO will be very tough, but then four straight very winnable games: at NYJ, vs Mia, vs Pit, and then at Carolina. They *should* get to 8-2 after that stretch. Then it's just a 3-3 finish to get to 11-5, which should put them in good shape.

2. I *really* hope Gronk returns soon. They desperately need him, and it shows.

3. The hell with Aaron Hernandez, who, besides the horrible things he has done to people - you know, like killing them - royally screwed the Patriots over this and next year. Not having him hurts a lot more than I thought it would.

4. I'd like to see this Patriots offense at full strength, but it isn't going to happen I don't think. Just once, though, I'd like to see Amendola, Gronk, Vereen, etc., all on the field together and see what Brady can do with that. Maybe it'll happen for the playoffs, and the offense will get into high gear at that point.

First off, kudos, this was very well written, AND, you make a ton of good points.

1 & 2 of your cons, I agree 100% and they are very worrisome. Now, as far as the new/rookie receivers, I do get excited about the POTENTIAL of these receivers. Dobson, I think can be a very dangerous receiver once he learns the game and gets on the same page as Brady, which I have no doubt he will do, it may take a full season, but Dobson has immense talent. I have no doubts in my mind he will be good. Granted I'm an optimist and if his drops or route running don't improve by next season, I may change my tune. BUT, even Gronk hurt us as rookie with drops and fumbles, so you have to expect mistakes from rookies, Thompkins and Dobson will make their mistakes. I kinda wish Boyce was getting more chances as well. All 3 rookies are very talented.

Brady, to be honest, I'm worried about for the first time since his rookie season. Everybody always mentioned that he makes Unknowns into good receivers, including rookies, but like you've said, I've seen him make bad throws and bad decicions. He has to take some of the blame for yesterday's loss and other games where the offense didn't show up.

3-The offensive line, they've always had trouble with tough physical defenses like Baltimore, and the Giants of the past, and even the Jets of the past. They could not handle the talent on the Bengals front line, whether it was running or in pass protection. Very frustrating and hopefully it doesn't continue.

One positive that has to come out of the game is that some of the younger guys are showing up in the sack column of the stats. You have to be happy with Chris Jones play. 1 1/2 sacks yesterday. Mayo had a really good game according to people here, as did Spikes. The defense a s a whole has done a fine job this year (going back to one of your cons).

 

[Ozymandias]

I agree with your overarching points to an extent. I just want to add regarding he-who-shall-not-be-named, I 100% agree with you on that one.

One of the reasons the offense has been struggling mightily is because they're getting absolutely nothing from the TE position. This was the type of game they could've used his presence. The Bengals LBs and Safeties would have had their hands full covering him.

It's really start to show up now, the impact of him and Gronkowski not being there is having on the team's ability to move the chains and score points. I thought the team would've be able to adapt a little bit better to life without them, but so far it's been a difficult transition.

Fortunately, Rob comes back soon. I'm not expecting him to light the world on fire immediately, but his presence alone should help out a bit.

 

[nflfan123]

New England yesterday 0 penalties for 0 yards... it's getting absolutely pathetic the level of favoritism showered on the Pats. Why is that? Well...

Robert Kraft holds all the cards with the television networks. They aren't going to let his team lose. Remember, (a) Kraft is also a board member at Viacom, CBS's parent and (b) CBS actually has an equity stake in the Patriot Place commercial mall/development. How no one in the media has ever really brought them up or focused on those conflicts never ceases to amaze me....

0 penalties for 0 yards - Cincinnati Bengals Message Boards - Forums

 

[QuantumMechanic]

I think a big chunk of the problem is something that everyone instinctively knows, but hasn't been explicitly stated (though has been alluded to when people say things like "it would be a lot different if Hernandez was here"). And that is that the past couple of years the NE offense has been able to line up on the field in (name your formation) and be able to do anything out of that formation. Think of the pressure that puts on the opposing defense.

With the imprisonment and all the injuries the team can't do that right now. That's (1) a big change, and (2) not a change the team spent the offseason preparing for. (Sure, they knew by training camp there would be no Hernandez, but I suspect they were planning to have Vereen fill a lot of that role). So it's not just that the talent level is lower, but it's a completely different offensive paradigm.

As for Brady I think it's (1) the receivers are making mistakes, and (2) Brady's lack of confidence in them is in his head and affecting his game overall (regardless of what he may say in public).

Finally (and I know this'll get a target drawn on me by the "WW is god/BB is a moron/Kraft is cheap" crowd) I don't think things would be hugely better if you swapped Welker in for Amendola. The problem isn't the lack of Welker. The problem is the schematic changes forced by the absence of Hernandez, Gronkowski, and Vereen.

 

[MoneyFX]

With the injuries on offense, growing pains are to be expected. I would rather have the struggles now and early in the season than in the winter.

But hopefully by the end of the season, the Patriots will be able to attack defenses with a full arsenal of weapons and showcase what their offense is fully capable of.

The lack of a receiving/screen threat out of the backfield (Vereen) and a TE in the middle of the field and red zone (Gronk) has really made the offense one-dimensional.

I just hope by December/January that the offense will show its full potential.

And I hope they can give Josh Boyce some more snaps and use his speed to their advantage.

 

[Harrisoned!]

With respect to the offensive line, coming into this game they had allowed the third-fewest hits and sacks to the QB in the NFL, behind only Denver and Detroit.

Cincinnati put a whooping on the OL, no doubt. But that DL is the best in the NFL by a landslide these days, and the WRs and Brady left them out to dry a bunch (ie, Burfict sack when Brady basically tripped over his shoelaces). We had enough time to make plays and the running game averaged 4.6 yards a clip. Even in an admittedly bad performance, they were not terrible. If you want to see terrible, re-watch the Dolphins-Ravens game.

I think we should also expect that there'd be some rustiness with Amendola and Brady. To that end I don't expect Gronk will step out there and give us 80 yards and 2 TDs like some home. However as they all get together and in rhythm and the personnel packages settle in a bit, Brady will gain more trust in the skill players and that will lead to better accuracy.

It likely will take 2-3 more weeks, maybe through the by week even, but assuming good health, I remain confident this offense will be clicking come playoff time. If I have learned anything about the NFL the last five years, it is that you don't need to be playing great team football in October. You just need to get by, put yourself in position for the playoffs, get your core stars healthy for the stretch run and then come together in December.

Honestly, out of the last six teams to hoist the Super Bowl, only the 2009 Saints at 13-3 were a wire-to-wire dominant team. The 2007 Giants certainly weren't, nor were the wild card Packers squad of 2010, the 2011 Giants and the 2012 Ravens definitely weren't at their peak until the end of the year.

Get Amendola assimilated. Get Gronk back and in the mix for a few weeks. Get Ridley back to toting it 15+ times a game. Welcome Vereen back in five more weeks. Then see what we have. We could go from a team playing guys like Blount, Hooman, Develin and Dobson snaps to one that can trot out Gronk/Amendola/Thompkins/Edelman and either Ridley or Vereen based on matchups. Is that as good as last year? No, but it is plenty good enough to win the way the defense is playing.

 

[Buchanty]

...the past couple of years the NE offense has been able to line up on the field in (name your formation) and be able to do anything out of that formation.

The problem is the schematic changes forced by the absence of Hernandez, Gronkowski, and Vereen.

You make some very good points and ones that resonate with some of the observations posted by Mike Reiss in his Picked Up Pieces Reviews today.

As a result of the many absences the play list has been abbreviated (hopefully soon to be expanded as the injured return). This makes it easier for defenses to scheme against us, and in particular gamble on plays that are out of their danger zone (ie beginning of drives in poor field position in the lower quarter of the field). In particular Reiss pointed to two play action schemes that the Bengals were able to either sniff out or guess that resulted in sacks in the first half. It is only an example but it can and I think it has unsettled the confidence of the O Line, QB and offensive play makers.

Good D lines are going to be problematic until experience comes, confidence grows and the playlist provides options to challenge defenses. We shouldn't be surprised at this loss as it has been written so many times that there will be bumps in the road especially with so many rookies. I dont know where else that realization of immaturity and is coupled by an expectation of perfection but I for one never entertained thoughts of an unbeaten season yet alone a 5-0 start. Even when Gronk returns we will still have bumps but as long as we learn and improve this season can still be special.

As far as Brady goes, he too needs confidence in his weapons. At the moment he only has one or two, depending on level of health, that he can rely on. That doesn't excuse some of his inaccuracies but it does explain them.

And finally I can believe that the rain storm was the product of some frantic prayers from the Jungle to stop the Patriots' final drive. Divine providence certainly brought a monsoon when the only option was to throw the ball. You might have been able to hear the collective sigh of relief from the stadium if only the rain wasn't so loud!

Credit to the Bengals though, they played the right game, played it well and got the right bounces and the win they deserved.