New England Patriots 2014 Mid-Season Grades By Position
 Tom Brady and the Patriots had a strong October to improve to 6-2 at the halfway point of the season. (USA TODAY Images) |
With the first half of the 2014 NFL season in the books the New England Patriots stand at 6-2 and leading the AFC East by a game over the Buffalo Bills.
The team now begins the heavy lifting of the season with the next five games against some of the best teams in the league. As Bill Belichick likes to say, you don’t really know what you have in a team until after Thanksgiving. But the halfway point is always a good place to stop and take stock at where the team is in terms of development.
Thus far in the season it has been a tale of two months, September was not a good one as the team struggled in many facets of both offense and defense and stumbled out to a 2-2 start with many fans and in the media calling for the end of the Tom Brady era.
October has been much kinder to both Brady and the Patriots, the team has gone 4-0 and Brady has been much closer to the Brady that we’ve become accustomed to as the offense has taken off. Questions about the defense as well as injuries continue but overall things are looking much more positive.
Injuries Continue To Haunt Team: Much like the past several years, the Patriots have been bitten by the injury bug especially on the defensive side.
DT Sealver Siliga was placed on IR-Return and can be expected back after the Lions game on Nov. 23.
DE Michael Buchanan was placed on IR after the Cincinnati game (Week5) and was lost for the season.
RB Stevan Ridley was injured in Buffalo and was lost for the season being placed on IR after suffering a knee injury.
LB Jerod Mayo was also lost for the season and placed on IR after suffering a knee injury in the Buffalo game.
DE Chandler Jones was lost for at least a month and possibly longer after suffering a hip injury against the Jets in Week 7
So here at PatsFans, we’ll break down the team by position and give our mid-term grades for the 2014 season.
 The Gronk is back! Rob Gronkowski finished the first half of 2014 on a strong note and has the NE Offense clicking on all cylinders. (USA TODAY Images) |
Offense
Quarterbacks: Tom Brady was walking on very unfamiliar ground in September, after struggling badly to start the season, there was actually talk about whether it was time to sit him down and start his heir apparent Jimmy Garappolo.
But October has brought a rebirth not only for Brady but for the offense as the Patriots have scored an average of 39.5 points during the month of October. Brady’s numbers the past month are right on par with Peyton Manning’s as they continue to defy age and put up some incredible stats.
Garappolo has gotten into a couple of games and has looked like the team made a good choice as Brady’s back-up and eventual replacement, but not too soon. Grade B+
Running Backs: The team lost a big part of the physical, pounding type running game with the season ending loss of Stevan Ridley. He’s the best of the bunch in being able to run down-hill with an edge to get the tough yardage. His fumbling issues were not in evidence this year as he had 94 touches without putting the ball on the ground.
Shane Vereen is more of the third-down back who is a very good receiver out of the backfield and can contribute in the running game. Healthy this season, Vereen has played well. Rookie James White is a similar type player and played sparingly, being a healthy scratch for most of the season. James Develin has been a valuable if unappreciated asset at fullback.
Jonas Gray was signed to the active roster after Ridley went down with an injury and got his first extended action on Sunday against the Bears. And the first impressions were positive. He ran hard and was able to move the pile, gaining 86 yards on 17 carries. The team may still explore bringing in a RB at the deadline but Gray has at least earned himself a longer look at the future. Grade B-
Wide Receivers: Early in the season it was the Julian Edelman show, as Brady looked mainly at his favorite wideout and not much elsewhere as the rest of the players at the position struggled to get untracked.
Edelman followed up an excellent 2013 with another solid start hauling in 45 passes for 467 yards and a touchdown in the first half of 2014. He remains Brady’s most trusted target with Rob Gronkowski and should have similar numbers going down the stretch. He has had three drops in the past two games as that should bear watching.
Brandon LaFell has made great strides in not only getting more comfortable in the Patriots offense but in gaining Brady’s trust. He struggled mightily the first two weeks of the season but since then has gotten progressively better, and on Sunday had career highs in catches (11) and yards (124).
Danny Amendola and Aaron Dobson have largely disappointed this season. In Dobson’s case, he’s been a healthy scratch for most of the season and he was expected to be a big part of the offense in 2014. Amendola hasn’t been targeted much but lately has given a boost in the return game. Brian Tyms was suspended for the first month of the season, but seems to be gradually working his way onto the field as he gets a few looks outside the numbers. Overall this grade could be higher if more than the top two were more involved in the passing game. Grade B-
Tight Ends: Rob Gronkowski has slowly worked his way back from last season’s ACL surgery and now looks to be operating at 100 percent. He started slowly and seemed to be laboring a bit, but not anymore. Arguably the most complete tight end in the game, a healthy Gronkowski makes this offense a much more dangerous unit.
It is no coincidence that as Gronk’s health has gotten better, so has the offensive numbers of the Patriots offense. And 40 catches, a 14.0 average per reception and 7 touchdowns speak volumes about how much the big man is back.
Tim Wright has slowly been working his way into the offense and should see his role as the “move” TE increase as the season goes into the second half. His numbers aren’t bad at all considering his snap count has been pretty limited. Michael Hoomanawanui has been good as the blocking tight end getting plenty of snaps. Grade B+
Offensive Line: Nowhere has seen as much flux as the Patriots starting unit on the offensive line. They had six different starting combinations thru the first seven weeks of the season. This unit struggled terribly in the early going as they couldn’t protect Tom Brady and the constant shuffling of personnel reached the point of near panic.
But Dave DeGuglielmo’s unit has solidified and dealt with not only poor play and communication but a myriad of injuries as well. Now that they’ve settled on the starting unit of Nate Solder, Dan Connolly, Bryan Stork, Ryan Wendell and Sebastian Vollmer they have been much, much better at protecting Brady and opening holes for the running game. Grade C+
 Darrelle Revis has come back to his normal level of play and gives the Patriots a shut-down corner in the improved secondary. (USA TODAY Images) |
Defense
Defensive Line: The unit is anchored by Vince Wilfork who returned from an Achilles injury and has played very well during the first half of the season. After releasing Tommy Kelly, the spot next to Wilfork at DT has seen numerous bodies as the team mixes and matches. Chris Jones, Casey Walker, Joe Vellano and 1st round pick Dominique Easley have all gotten work but they all have struggled in run defense. They need to get Siliga back.
Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich anchor the DE spots, but Jones their best pass rusher is on hold for at least a month with a hip injury. Rookie Zach Moore is an intriguing prospect. The pass rush has been inconsistent. Grade C
Linebackers: The team entered the season with a good starting trio of Jerod Mayo, Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins but with little depth behind them. That depth has been tested with the season ending loss of Mayo, their defensive signal caller.
Hightower has answered the bell and is playing his best football since being drafted. Collins is playing out of position inside a lot which limits his play-making ability but has done ok. Deonte Skinner has been getting a lot of snaps but has been pretty much a mixed bag. The team just brought in Akeem Ayers from the Titans last week and he contributed a sack and some pressure in his first action.
Depth remains an issue for the unit but once Ayers becomes more comfortable with the playbook, will upgrade the pass rush and athleticism at the position. Grade B-
Secondary: It was here that the Patriots made their biggest splash during the spring. After losing CB Aqib Talib to the Denver Broncos, the Patriots went out and brought in Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner which immediately gave the team the deepest roster at CB that they’ve had been in years.
Alfonzo Dennard, Logan Ryan, Kyle Arrington and rookie Malcolm Butler have all gotten extensive playing time. And they have played excellently thus far.
Safety Devin McCourty’s play has been Pro-Bowl caliber in the secondary this season. He gives the team the center field presence that they need when playing a lot of man coverage. Pat Chung has surprised with a solid season thus far, providing physical in-the-box play. Duron Harmon, Tavon Wilson and Nate Ebner have all contributed as well.
It is no surprise that the Patriots are the #2 pass defense in the NFL with the way the secondary has performed in 2014. They remain the only team to not allow a 40 yard pass this season. Grade A-
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Stephen Gostowski has had an outstanding season for the Patriots. (SBalestrieri photo)[/caption]
Special Teams
Kicker: Stephen Gostkowski has been outstanding in 2014, whether on his field goal attempts or his kickoffs; Gostowski remains a solid, reliable kicker with outstanding range and accuracy. His only miss in 2014 was on a bad snap. Grade A
Punter: Ryan Allen has had a solid season after starting kind of slow at the outset of 2014. Allen is averaging 46.2 yards per punt and has dropped 12 of his 34 punts inside the 20 yard line with only touchbacks. Grade B
Long Snapper/Holder: It is never good for a long snapper to get mentioned much as this usually means that he’s making mistakes. Danny Aiken has had some miscues, notably two plays in a row in Buffalo but overall has ok. Allen has done a great job of holding on both field goals and extra points. Grade B
Punt Returner: Julian Edelman remains one of the more dangerous punt returners in the game in 2014. Largely held under wraps for the first half of the season, the past few weeks has seen the return team get closer to breaking one. Sunday against the Bears they did, with Edelman returning a punt 42 yards deep inside Chicago territory to set up a Patriots touchdown. Grade B
Kick Returner: The Patriots are still stuck in neutral here, Pat Chung, Matthew Slater and Devin McCourty has both gotten some reps there but without much of an impact. Danny Amendola has recently gotten work there and has injected a bit of life in the return game displaying some nice shiftiness and quickness. Grade C+
First Half MVP : Gronkowski, he makes the offense go and is the most irreplaceable player besides Brady.
Most Disappointing: Dobson.... This is a guy who was supposed to be a big part of the offense, now he can't crack the 46 man active roster.
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