Theory:Brady too reliant on Welker?

[Ring 6]

The younger Tom went through those reads quicker ... can we at least say that?

... or is this offense designed differently and times have changed?

The younger Tom didn't have guys like Welker who got open easily.
If you 'throw to the open man' and everyone gets open, only your primary target ever gets thrown to. If your receivers struggle to get open you check down a lot.
I think younger Tom had to check down, and Tom with Welker, Moss, Gronk didn't need to because guys were open.

The alternative is Bledsoe passing up open receivers because they aren't deep throws, the finding no one else open, patting the ball, taking the sack.

 

[Ring 6]

That is what Andy decided to gloss over. When a QB is forcing the ball to a receiver, it means he's trying to get the ball to a receiver who is partially or totally covered. My understanding of the NFL passing game is that if your primary receiver is covered, you progress to the next receiver until you find one who is open and that is the one you hit with your pass. We saw that PLENTY of times when we had very good receivers in Branch, Givens, Brown and Patten. Not to mention Kevin Faulk.

What you are saying doesn't add up.
How do you force the ball to one guy and miss an open receiver by using progressions?
By your argument Brady is running an offense where Welker is the last option and he passes by everyone else to throw to him.

Brady's success in throwing to Welker (the best he has ever had throwing to anyone) makes it painfully clear he has done a tremendous job of judging whether Welker is open or not.
Welker being open a lot doesnt equal Brady forcing the ball to Welker.

 

[Ring 6]

Sorry, Dagg, but the least you could do is use the QUOTE button so people can reference what you are talking about.

Fact is that you are wrong and the Stats prove it. Welker, with garbage QBs in Miami (something you ignore) put up 67 receptions for 687 yards on 99 targets. If you extrapolate that out to the 145 targets he had in his 1st year as a Pat, then you get 98 receptions for 1006 yards... And that is with QBs who are throwing at a below 60% completion rating.

See my post, the numbers show you are wrong.

 

[PP2]

Amendola is not at all a Welker clone. He will do some of the things Welker did, but he is not a clone.

Personally, I would not be surprised to find out that Amendola plus what is left to come (and the accompanying shift to shifting Welker role across most of the receiving unit) and getting younger was plan A, and keeping Welker was plan B. Just because Welker to Denver was announced before Amendola to NE does not mean Welker was choice 1 and Amendola + the rest of the plan still to unfold was choice B.

Amendola is not a vertical threat and does not have the strength to leverage defenders down the field which restricts his abilities to that of an exceptional route runner, which is pretty much what Welker is.