Following their 27 to 17 shellacking of the Miami Dolphins
on October 27, 2013, the New England Patriots sit at 6-2 and first place in the
AFC East at the halfway point of this 16-game regular season. We’ve had some
time to see their offseason decisions play out and to view the impact of
injuries. Of course, there has been some good, some bad, and some ugly. The
injury bug has hit, and hit hard, but the Pats keep chugging right along. As
the student body of Medfield High School nears the end of the term, it’s time
to give the Patriots their report card.
Quarterbacks: B-
So far, we’ve seen very
pedestrian play from starting quarterback Tom Brady. He’s completing 55.7
percent of his passes, for 1,824 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions. Excluding
the year he was injured, Brady is on pace to post career lows in completions,
touchdowns, completion percentage and yards. I’m sure some of this has to do
with a new receiving core and mysterious hand ailment. Backup Ryan Mallett has
yet to see the field.
Running Backs: B+
The running back position has been a strength of this
offense so far this season. Taking a “running back by committee” approach, the
four main rushers of Stevan Ridley, Brandon Bolden, LeGarrette Blount and Shane
Vereen have racked up a collective 965 yards and seven touchdowns. Ridley is
the team’s leading rusher with 399 yards and four touchdowns on 92 attempts,
followed by Blount (265 yds-1 TD-65 att) and Bolden (169 yds-2 TD-35 att). Vereen
has been injured since Week 1 with a broken wrist, but is a spark-plug for this
backfield and should return in Week 11.
Wide Receivers: C
This group has been marred by inconsistency. The offseason
saw huge turnover, with Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd both leaving, and Aaron
Hernandez’s situation being well-publicized. The Patriots brought in oft-injured
Danny Amendola, who is billed as the next Welker, rookies Aaron Dobson,
Kenbrell Thompkins and Josh Boyce, and, more recently, veteran Austin Collie.
The most consistent receiver this year has been Julian Edelman, now in his
fifth season in New England. He has 48 receptions for 462 yards and two
touchdowns. In comparison, the next four after him are Dobson (26-324-2),
Thompkins (23-334-4), Amendola (19-174-0), and Collie (3-34-0). Brady’s trust
in them is growing each week, but it will never be near the rapport he had with
Wes Welker. This group will have to find its stride if the Pats hope to do any
damage in the postseason.
Tight Ends: D+
Frankly, the only thing keeping this grade above an “F” is
the return of Rob Gronkowski. The position had so much promise in the
offseason. Then Aaron Hernandez happened. And Jake Ballard didn’t pan out.
Neither did Zach Sudfeld. Until Gronk’s return in Week 7, Michael Hoomanawanui
was the team’s sole tight end. In eight games, “Hooman” has eight catches for
95 yards and zero touchdowns. In two games since returning from forearm and
back issues, Gronk has 10 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown that was called
back due to a penalty. You can see just how dynamic Gronkowski is to this
offense. Expect this grade to get better as the year goes on.
Offensive Line: B
The offensive line has been another average position so far
this year. They returned all of their starters and backup Marcus Cannon, while
adding veteran Will Svitek in the offseason. They have allowed 23 quarterback
sacks, compared to 27 times all of last season. But the offensive line suffered
a serious blow last week against the Miami Dolphins when starting right tackle
Sebastian Vollmer broke his right leg. He will be out for the remainder of the
season.
Defensive Line: B
If I did this grade after week four against the Atlanta
Falcons, it would most likely be an “A.” They were stout against the run with
Vince Wilfork and Tommy Kelly in the middle, and had a much improved pass-rush
with Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich at the ends. Rookie Michael Buchanan
contributed as well. Then, Wilfork went down with a season-ending Achilles
injury, Kelly tweaked his knee, and all of the sudden, the Patriots run defense
was more porous than Spongebob Squarepants. Without Wilfork to eat up two or
three blockers and push the pile every play, Kelly had to assume the role, and
his body broke down on him. Without having to focus on Wilfork, Jones and
Ninkovich received more attention from the opponent. Losing Wilfork is a big
blow, and the defensive line will have to put on their big-boy pants to help
the Patriots go deep in the playoffs. Signing Andre Carter and trading for
Isaac Sopoaga may help.
Linebackers: B-
With an average age of 25, the Patriots linebacking group is
a young one. Their weakness is in the pass game, and this is something that may
be exploited now that leader Jerod Mayo has been placed on season-ending
Injured Reserve. Dane Fletcher is probably their best bet in coverage, but he
has lost a step since tearing his ACL last year. Don’t’a Hightower is starting
to blossom into a true, all-around linebacker, while heavy hitter Brandon
Spikes is one of the best run-stopping linebackers in the league. A very
intriguing aspect to the linebackers is rookie Jamie Collins. He is freakishly
athletic, but has been underutilized so far this year. He could develop into
one of their best options at that position. This is yet another group who will
have to overcome an injury to their leader in order to succeed.
Defensive Secondary:
A
Perhaps the brightest spot on the entire team, the Patriots
secondary has been stellar this entire year. The play of Aqib Talib and Alfonzo
Dennard at cornerback has been superb, and Devin McCourty and Steve Gregory
have quietly had great years at the safety position. Talib has been a lockdown
guy and assigned to the opponents’ top receiver. Dennard gets the man on the
side of the field, while Kyle Arrington thrives in his role of slot cornerback.
Talib leads the team with four interceptions, while six others have one apiece,
including rookie Logan Ryan, who returned his for a touchdown. This squad has
turned the Patriots pass defense around, going from one of the worst in the
league for the past couple of seasons, to being among the best this year.
Special Teams: A-
The less you hear about special teams, the better, because
if you’re talking about special teams, it’s probably because they screwed up.
Kicker Stephen Gostkowski has missed juts one field goal all year and has
converted all extra point attempts. Rookie punter Ryan Allen was good enough to
boot Zoltan Mesko off the Patriots roster this preseason and has shown he can
produce in the regular season as well. Long snapper Danny Aiken has been solid
as well. Special teams captain Matthew Slater remains one of the top
contributors on this team and one of the best special teamers in the league.
Coaching: B-
Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia have worked
around injuries and utilized what they have available to win games this year.
There’s been good, like the decision to put Aqib Talib on Atlanta’s Tony
Gonzalez, one of the greatest receiving tight ends of all-time, and there’s
been bad, like Belichick being unaware of a rule that cost the Patriots a win
against AFC East rival New York Jets. Time will tell for this coaching staff.
In Bill We Trust.
Overall: B-/C+
The Patriots have played above average football,
but will need to play far better if they want even the slightest shot at the
Super Bowl. Injuries are a part of football, and they just have to push through
them and continue to win games. Tom Brady needs to gain confidence in his
receivers, and having Gronkowski back will surely help. With eight games
remaining, I predict the Patriots to go 5-3 the rest of the way, giving them an
11-5 record overall, just enough to finagle their way into the playoffs.
No comments:
Post a Comment