Should We Be Concerned About the Offense’s Slow Starts?

Rick: For me, there’s not that much concern because unlike the Broncos, New England has shown the ability to turn the switch on at any time like they did in the third quarter against the Dolphins last week. The offensive line’s struggles are the most alarming because while Brady isn’t getting sacked, he is being pressured and not feeling comfortable as much in the pocket. The key for this Patriots’ offense to get off to a better start is to establish the running game. To do that, they need a combination of LeGarrette Blount and Jonas Gray to put Brady in favorable situations for the short-to-intermediate passing game.

Kyle: I think that once the start Jonas Gray the offense will be fine. He hits the holes quickly and he gives the offense a true spark. While Blount  can be devastating at times, Gray is their best back. If they don’t start Gray, then history is doomed to repeat itself.

Raj: Is the Bieber curse still alive? I mean the Patriots have won their past two but the starts have been really sluggish. I still want to blame the curse. While I am concerned that the offense has been starting out slow, all that matters is that they have more points than the other team at :00 of the 4th quarter. So although we should be concerned about the offense not scoring early, does it really matter if the Patriots still win in the end? Of course, I would love to see more points being scored early, but it is not a necessity. Still though, it would have helped if the Patriots didn’t hang out with Bieber in LA that night.

Derek: In December and January, points don’t come easy.  I think some slow down in the offense is to be expected.  If you look back to the prolific 2007 Patriots team, even that juggernaut struggled to put points up later in the season at times.  I think there’s some reason for concern as the stereotypical Patriots playoff losses of late all were the result of the offense’s inability to get rolling.  In contrast, when the Patriots start hot, they almost never lose.   Still, I think the key take away is that even when the offense sputters, this team has a strong enough defense and special teams unit to withstand that slow start and give this team a chance to come away with the victory.  That couldn’t be said in past years.