Rick: The biggest area that the Patriots need to address other than the offensive line is the wide receivers. Other than Julian Edelman, no other Patriot has stood out at that position. The one thing I haven’t liked that Bill Belichick has done so far is not play Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins in the same game. Usually, one of them plays and the other is inactive. Danny Amendola and Brandon Lafell have underwhelmed so far and New England needs wide receiver production a lot when you consider Rob Gronkowski isn’t fully healthy yet. If the other receivers besides Edelman can’t get open, Brady is going to be holding the ball too long and taking way more hits than he should be. I would say the defensive line is the other area of concern, but they have played better of late. However, the quality of running back will only get better as the season goes on when you consider the team has faced Darren McFadden and Matt Asiata the last couple of weeks.
Kyle: The biggest area of improvement is Red Zone efficiency. The Patriots will not beat elite teams, like the one they play in two weeks, by kicking field goals. They disguise nothing inside the ten. If it looks like a run set, they run. If it looks like a pass, they pass. The problem is it all goes back to the offensive line. If they can’t get push near the end zone, without a bruiser carrying the ball, running it in is a problem. And with their total inability to give Brady space and comfort, passing plays are tough. Can somebody send out an APB for Dante Scarnecchia- please?
Raj: Other than the offensive line, they need to work on the pass rush. Right now, I’m really liking what the defense is doing. But they can be better and I think one area where they still struggle is at the pass rush. The linebackers and defensive tackles on this Patriots team are capable of being a top-10 pass-rushing defense. We saw them pressurize Derek Carr a little bit last week (the game-ending pick by Vince Wilfork happened because of a solid pass rush). If they can keep this up on a consistent basis, this will not only improve their statistics, but also the defense as a whole.
Derek: The biggest need for the Patriots is finding a receiver not named Julian Edelman who can step up and make some plays. Some of the receivers’ struggles this year can be directly tied to the play of the offensive line, but overall the receiving corps as a whole have been underwhelming. Defenses are going to be able to key in on Edelman and Gronkowski if the rest of the offense continues to be this anemic. The Patriots defense has finally been shored up. In order for the Patriots to repeat their performances from the early 2000’s, Tom Brady will need a group of pass catchers that he can trust and spread the ball around to.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
