Will Moss Be Missed All That Much?

[Bahku]

People talk like we're lost without a tall wide receiver, (Moss, TO, et al), but Moss is the first one we've had in a long time, and we won more than one Super Bowl with near-six-foot-and-under WR's.

There's also a lot of talk about how ineffective Branch will be, but I think that chemistry he had with Brady will return quickly, and guys like Welker, Edelman, Gronkowski, (a pretty big target at 6'6"/265), and Hernandez, will shine all the brighter in Randy's absence when it comes to the passing game.

I was worried myself when the trade first happened, until I stopped to think a bit about how well we played before Moss ever came to New England. I'm not worried about the passing game anymore ... not even the long game. I think our opponents may even take our passing game for granted now, and assume that without Randy that facet of our game is no longer much of a threat.

I think the main concern, (once again), will be defensively ... replacing guys like Harrison, Seymour, Bruschi, and Vrabel, is nearly impossible ... and they spoiled us a bit. We've got some great young talent on the defensive side, but developing it will take time ... and absorbing a bunch of mistakes in the process.

The big question is: Do we have enough on the offensive side of the ball to make up for what we lack with defense? We'll see ... but I like our chances at this point. Moss is a heckuva player, but his head trips make him inconsistent, and a guy who is always followed by a little question mark, (which Randy is going to show up today?).

I honestly don't think we'll miss him as much as most people think ... and the guys taking up the slack have got a few positive surprises in store. What little we'll miss about Randy, is how he kept the opponents defenses honest, and loosened up the run game with tight and sometimes double coverage.

How much of a "hole" do you think he leaves behind?

[crownsy]

I just question why every team won't play bracket coverage on welker with a 3-3-5 nickle or other DB heavy set.

I see no reason why you would not play that coverage, considering all the patriots have right now are slot receivers and a very sub par running game that most teams will not feel the need to commit a safety to stop.

I'd be shocked if this isn't what every team does until the pats give them a reason to fear leaving there corners alone on the sidelines...Who is the deep threat now that pulls a saftey out of bracket coverage on wes going short? Brandon tate i guess?

I'f im a D-coordinator against this offense, I'm having my SS bracket wes every play and absolutely destroy him on crossing patterns, making him work the outside of the field to avoid double coverage and a saftey coming up and laying the lumber.

I guess it comes down to Brandon tate establishing himself as a outside receiver worthy of respect. Otherwise this offense seems like a spread offense with none of the weopens that clear the field. They lack anything approaching a deep threat or a potent running back.

Mabey they can split hernandez out to draw the safties out of the middle?

The spread really isn't that effective if the safeties can just run bracket coverage 10 yards up the field, will be interesting to see how the pats try to make defenses give up those short crossing patterns for the slot WR's/TE's without a deep threat to take one of them away from the middle.

Better figure it out quick too, this patriots defense cannot put up with the pressure of having to hold the opponent to 14 points a game or less to win close games won via ball control ala' 2001-2004.

[Eja117]

Moss who?

[crownsy]

Moss who?

i'm happy to be wrong for a week, but lets not act like the Offense tore it up.

They were awful for three quarters. The defense stepped up huge this week, and that had nothing to do with the lack/presence of randy moss.

Was nice to see the Offense come alive and look good in the 4th quarter and OT, but up till then they were looking very pedestrian and getting a ton of 3 and outs.

Hopefully I'll continue to be wrong going forward, but im not ready to go with "moss who?" based on that performance.

[Donoghus]

It's only one game.  Way to early to make post-mortums about the Moss trade and Branch acquisition.

However, it was extremely good to see Branch effectively integrate himself into the Pats offense right out of the gate. 

[Overrated]

I think the deep threat will be missed. They're still a solid offensive team with Branch.

The defense is what will bring the team down, even though they stand at 4-1 at the moment. If the defense could stop people more, the Pats could win close games and not need an offensive barrage.

[Donoghus]

Yesterday was a very "2001-ish" game for the Pats.

The NFL is so wide-open this year that I really don't know what to make of the Pats standing in the pecking order.  I'd put the Steelers & Jets ahead of them right now in the AFC.  I'm not sure who else I'd feel comfortable putting ahead of them.  I still think Baltimore is pretty legit. Indy will continue to be scary as long at Manning is back there.

The good news (or bad news) depending how you look at it, is that the Pats still get to play all those teams this season with the obvious exception of the Ravens now. We'll get a much better barometer on things in the next couple of months.

[Fan from VT]

My Worry:
-Yesterdays defense was purely fluky, and we're now an average team.

My Hope:
-We got no turnovers yesterday, and the defense was still good. I think this is MORE encouraging than the Miami game because as far as I know turnovers are not a reliable measure of defensive ability and cannot be depended on week to week. So to stop Baltimore multiple times without turnovers is quite hopeful.
-Additionally, I don't recall getting stops due to Baltimore self-inflicted damage. I don't remember Flacco sailing passes or Baltimore receivers dropping balls. This is good because it means there just weren't good options available for the Baltimore offense.
-On the flipside, Baltimore is a tough defense. Were really re-working our offense. And even so, we had several easy drops (Crumpler had a major one, Welker had at least one, Woodhead had one) in regulation, all of which would have sustained drives. These wouldn't have been "lucky" or "great" catches, either, they were "definitely should have caught them" drops. Add to that the two by Hernandez in OT. Basically, there were at least 3 drops that resulted in punts that should have been 1st downs; the offense was good enough to get them open and get the ball to them to sustain the drive, but the balls were dropped. This, plus the fact that Hernandez/Tate/Gronkowski will continue to acclimate to the league (and new roles, esp. Tate) and the fact that Branch will get more sophisticated with the offense tells me that our offense will continue to look quite a bit better than they looked vs. Baltimore. After all, any one of those drive-killing drops could have led to a FG or TD which would have ended the game in regulation and at the very least contributed to less time of possession for Baltimore.




Basically, I was encouraged by the fact that it didn't look at all like Baltimore shot themselves in the foot: No turnovers, No easy drops, Less Penalties...yet New England won despite more Turnovers, more Penalties, and at least 3 regulation time easy drops and 2 more key drops in OT.

Additionally, it looked like receiver space was available in the 15-20 yard range via Branch or Hernandez. If we can continue that  and work Tate into it, that's enough opening up of the field to keep the underneath stuff open.


Oh, and Add Mankins back in; he has disagreements with management, but probably still has strong rapport with the players and will certainly play his butt off to earn a new contract somewhere else.

[Q_FBE]

Who is Moss, again?

Well, OK I am being flip here. My guess is the 2010 Patriots will continue to evolve without Randy Moss.

Each week will contain some fresh anxiety.

Yesterday we hung in there and beat a strong Baltimore team and made some plays on defense that I have not seen out of that outfit in a while. Looks like they are improving.

They also ran the ball effectively enough and this is something I look for each week. If you run the ball, you don't really need Moss.

We will have a matchup issue with Moss of Minnesota on Halloween but they are in the NFC and losing to them will not knock us out of the play-off running.

[Roy H.]

Since I just took a flyer on him in my fantasy league, let's hope that Branch keeps producing.

[JSD]

Since I just took a flyer on him in my fantasy league, let's hope that Branch keeps producing.

I grabbed him the moment the trade was official. I love his versatility and what he can do in this offense. We're talking Troy Brown 2001 - 2004 baby.

[Eja117]

It's only one game.  Way to early to make post-mortums about the Moss trade and Branch acquisition.

However, it was extremely good to see Branch effectively integrate himself into the Pats offense right out of the gate. 

This is my point. With Moss and without Branch we lose that game.

If that keeps happening then, yes, it is/was Randy's fault.

[Evantime34]

If we continue to move the ball and score touchdowns I don't miss Moss. If we continue to win I won't miss Moss. I think to the average fan the Patriots were more exciting with Moss. To me the Patriots are more exciting when they are winning superbowls.

[Greenbean]

I just question why every team won't play bracket coverage on welker with a 3-3-5 nickle or other DB heavy set.

I see no reason why you would not play that coverage, considering all the patriots have right now are slot receivers and a very sub par running game that most teams will not feel the need to commit a safety to stop.

I'd be shocked if this isn't what every team does until the pats give them a reason to fear leaving there corners alone on the sidelines...Who is the deep threat now that pulls a saftey out of bracket coverage on wes going short? Brandon tate i guess?

I'f im a D-coordinator against this offense, I'm having my SS bracket wes every play and absolutely destroy him on crossing patterns, making him work the outside of the field to avoid double coverage and a saftey coming up and laying the lumber.

I guess it comes down to Brandon tate establishing himself as a outside receiver worthy of respect. Otherwise this offense seems like a spread offense with none of the weopens that clear the field. They lack anything approaching a deep threat or a potent running back.

Mabey they can split hernandez out to draw the safties out of the middle?

The spread really isn't that effective if the safeties can just run bracket coverage 10 yards up the field, will be interesting to see how the pats try to make defenses give up those short crossing patterns for the slot WR's/TE's without a deep threat to take one of them away from the middle.

Better figure it out quick too, this patriots defense cannot put up with the pressure of having to hold the opponent to 14 points a game or less to win close games won via ball control ala' 2001-2004.

Teams cannot use a DB heavy look because of our now effective team of TE's. Also, Welker and now Brach are really good at getting open...bottom line.

I think we do need somewhat of a running game to make this offense work and you might be underselling it a bit. We dont have a top teir running back but we have a couple of guys who can get the job done behind a line that is run blocking decently right now.

[Greenbean]

I think the deep threat will be missed. They're still a solid offensive team with Branch.

The defense is what will bring the team down, even though they stand at 4-1 at the moment. If the defense could stop people more, the Pats could win close games and not need an offensive barrage.

I look at it this way. They have a young defense with talent that is learning on the fly. They will most likely be better by year's end so going through this tough stretch at 4-1 is encouraging.