Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are starting to round into form in 2014 as the Patriots offense begins to click. (USA TODAY Images) |
After playing 4 games in 18 days, the Patriots needed this “mini-bye” week, the injuries have been piling up, and the players were mentally and physically in need of a break.
After struggling thru the first four games of the season and scoring only 80 points, we wrote here after the debacle in Kansas City that the offense lacked an identity and was struggling to even figure out who belonged on the field.
A lot has changed in the last three weeks, facing three pretty stout defenses, the Patriots offense has scored 107 points and now seems to be firing much closer to its optimum output. But has the offense found its identity?
The answer is kind of wishy-washy but true….not yet but they are getting much closer. Better offensive line protection has ignited Tom Brady and besides Julian Edelman, the team has gotten much better production out of a re-energized Rob Gronkowski, a more comfortable Brandon LaFell and RB Shane Vereen. They are the big four now for Brady to lean on with this offense.
The running game is still a work in progress with the loss of Stevan Ridley, but Vereen, Jonas Gray and Brandon Bolden will continue to search for a happy medium as they sort out who will get the carries from week to week.
It is important for the offense to get things sorted out because the next six games over seven weeks (bye week included) will ultimately decide where this team is at the end of the season. The Patriots next six opponents are Chicago, Denver, Indianapolis, Detroit, Green Bay and San Diego whose combined record is as of today 28-13.
Everything Starts With Brady: Veteran QB Tom Brady, who was the subject of benching and trading rumors just three weeks ago, has put together three outstanding games in a row.
Brady the past three weeks has completed 70 of 109 passes, (64.2 %) for 914 yards (8.38 YPA) and nine touchdowns and most importantly zero interceptions for a QB rating of 118.0. Brady looks much more comfortable in the pocket and the play of the offensive line has much to do with it.
The OL was missing two starters (Bryan Stork, Dan Connolly) against the Jets due to injuries and with their return, the play of the front five which was miserable the first month of the season, should continue to gel. But there are other factors combining for Brady’s recent “fountain of youth”.
Gronkowski Rounding Into Form: There is no doubt about it, this offense isn’t close to the same without Rob Gronkowski, the marked difference in 2013 between when he was and wasn’t in the lineup was vast. And once he went down for good against Cleveland last year, the offense scuffled along.
Well the big man is nearly back to 100 percent, the Patriots were patient with him all spring and summer, working him slowly back from last December’s ACL surgery. Gronk struggled out of the gate and wasn’t close to who he can be during that first month of the season.
Now he’s back to being nearly all the way back to being arguably the most complete tight end in the game. Gronkowski’s snap counts have continuously gotten higher, as he played over 90 percent of the offensive snaps in the Jets game. A tremendous blocker in the running game, having Gronkowski lined up tight gives Brady and the offense tremendous flexibility as he can help spring a running play or break off into a passing route.
With the gradual addition of Tim Wright in the passing game, the Patriots can go with a 2-TE look that is extremely tough to defend. Wright is more of a big WR than TE and fits the role of the “Move-TE” that Aaron Hernandez filled so well here. Not coincidentally during this three game winning streak, Gronkowski’s production has been good, 18 catches, 262 yards and a touchdown.
But his worth goes far beyond simple numbers; Gronkowski is what we used to refer to Special Forces as a “force multiplier”. He makes everyone around him better and gets so much attention in the passing game; he can clear out huge amounts of room for the wide receivers to operate in. That was very apparent in Buffalo when he ran a corner route and dragged three defenders with him leaving Brandon LaFell all alone across the middle for an easy touchdown.
LaFell/Edelman Rounding Out As Top Two WRs: Julian Edelman has followed up a stellar 2013 season with a solid 2014. He remains Tom Brady’s go-to guy and is always ready to do the dirty work underneath and across the middle.
Edelman has caught 44 passes thus far in 2014 which would project out to another 100 catch campaign for the 28 year old WR. He’s been reliable, tough and feisty out on the field. But now the team has a second reliable option for Brady to target.
Brandon LaFell’s season started very slowly with the Patriots logging zero catches the first two games and this was after he admitted that he struggled with the playbook and offense. But the big, target has kept working hard at it and has gradually increased both his workload and his production as he and Brady have worked on their timing and chemistry.
LaFell joins Gronkowski and Wright as the bigger targets for Brady to utilize which is more important as the Patriots get into the red zone, something that was lacking for the team down the stretch last season.
Danny Amendola is getting the lion’s share of the snaps when the Patriots go three-wide and moves into the slot with Edelman being bumped outside. He too got off to an extremely slow start to 2014 but his leaping touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Jets was the difference in the Patriots 27-25 win. It will be interesting to see if that increases the looks he gets going forward. Brian Tyms and Aaron Dobson have gotten little playing time, disappointing in the fact that most were convinced that Dobson was ready to make a big second year jump.
Running Game In Flux Without Ridley: With the loss of Stevan Ridley to a season-ending injury during the Patriots win in Buffalo, the team lost its big, physical back who is able to power thru the short yardage situations with burst and power. It is a significant loss for the team as it tries to remain balanced in both rushing and passing.
Ridley has been replaced, at least during the game against the Jets by Shane Vereen who had over 100 yards combined rushing and receiving including two touchdowns. But Vereen is best suited to be the third down back and is most effective as a receiver out of the backfield.
Running back Jonas Gray was promoted from the Patriots practice squad prior to the Jets game and was eased into the lineup logging in just 12 snaps. Gray had a light workload getting only three carries for 12 yards but should see more of a workload moving forward.
Gray is built along the same lines as Ridley at 5’11, 230 lbs, he can run with a lot of power but one of the more impressive things about Thursday was his ability to block in the passing game. Patriots running backs must be able to pick up blitzing linebackers and safeties and Gray handled that well. Look for him to gradually increase his carries and snaps as he gets more comfortable in the offense.
Brandon Bolden is a core special teams player getting work in all four of the STs units. That won’t change and he’ll get the occasional snap to give Vereen and Gray a rest. That was apparent against the Jets as he logged only a single snap on offense. James White is basically getting a red-shirt type year as he’s been inactive for most of the season.
So while the Patriots offense is still evolving as we near the half-way point of the season, things are beginning to round into form. The main trio, Brady, Gronkowski and Edelman are the three players the team must have on the field to remain successful. Gronkowski in particular after Brady is the guy who makes this offense go.
But with the increased workloads of LaFell, Wright and Vereen it gives Brady and OC Josh McDaniels options to attack opposing defenses. The Patriots are a game-plan specific team and each could see games where they’re targeted more frequently depending upon matchups. The Patriots offensive identity in 2014 is slowly emerging and we’ll know much more after the next six games.
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