2015 Patriots Football

[Cman]

defense is good for a while , good skill position players on offense .

Needs
1) Help on the offensive line
2) another reliable receiver that can go deep
3) Legit starting running back
4) Pass rusher

Good thing the Pats don't have a 1st or 4th rd pick for no reason .....

(1) Agreed. I'm hoping the rookies improve with the offseason, and with our starting LT back. Pats certainly aren't going shopping for O-Line help, so it is either drafting or improvement.
(2) His name is Megatron.
(3) Either Blount will be back. Or, His name is Marshawn Lynch.
(4) They have some good pass rushers, and the D-Line is pretty good. It is going to be more a question of who they can retain between Jones, Hightower, Collins. Can they keep all three? Not sure the cap situation.

On (2) and (3), Megatron and Lynch are just for fun, but I could see those types of players coming to the Pats for various reasons (less so Lynch, though).

[slamtheking]

well, Pats fans can take some solace in knowing that with the O-line finally exposed on this big a stage and Brady needing a better receiving core, those sore points can't be glazed over by a trip to the Super Bowl.

If Gronk, Edelman, Amendola, and White/Lewis are not enough, I don't know what to tell you. Most other teams have to get by with less. Also, there are only that many dollars on the cap.

just offering my 2 cents as a non-Pats fan.

Gronk, E and A are fine but they need a receiver that can really stretch a defense.  Give Brady a Moss-like receiver and look what he can do.  I think White showed today that they need someone better out there.  it's easier said than done to get that kind of receiver but that type of player with some O-line improvements would do wonders for helping Brady next year

Brady doesn't need that at this stage of his career. He is not all that precise down the field anymore, and the offense really shouldn't be predicated on him having to pump it downfield with regularity. He had White open down the field multiple times and overthrew him.

From my point of view, he needs a 1st down RB who can take it down the middle with impunity. Blount was (kind of) that guy, and Lewis' ability to elude tacklers made him better in the running game than White (or Vereen for that matter).

I think Gronk was hurt more than he let on. In any case, I agree that the Pats have greater needs than another receiver.  O line was pitiful today.

I don't disagree they could use a much better set of running backs but Brady is the Pats' bread and butter on offense.  give him better protection on the line and a receiver with some speed and he'll have that offense humming.

[kozlodoev]

I don't disagree they could use a much better set of running backs but Brady is the Pats' bread and butter on offense.  give him better protection on the line and a receiver with some speed and he'll have that offense humming.

You need a RB to keep the defenses honest. The bread is a lot more buttery when they can't afford to drop 8 into coverage on every snap.

[PhoSita]

I don't think they need a "legit starting running back" because you can't rely on one guy to stay healthy the whole year.

What they need is a 2-3 guys who they can rely on to make plays (like when they had Vereen, Ridley, Blount, etc.)

They can't afford another situation where they get to the playoffs against a quality defensive opponent and they don't have a single running back who scares the defense at all in the passing game or out of the backfield.  Today in Denver they had a guy who could get them 1-2 yards in a pinch (essentially a fullback), and they had one guy who was basically a fifth string wide receiver.

[kozlodoev]

Today in Denver they had a guy who could get them 1-2 yards in a pinch (essentially a fullback), and they had one guy who was basically a fifth string wide receiver.

Vereen was exactly as inept in the running game, and worked out great.

[PhoSita]

Today in Denver they had a guy who could get them 1-2 yards in a pinch (essentially a fullback), and they had one guy who was basically a fifth string wide receiver.

Vereen was exactly as inept in the running game, and worked out great.

He was a playmaker though.  He was a threat in the passing game.

I don't care if they can run or catch passes or what ... they just need to be able to do something.

The Pats didn't have any running backs today they could rely on to give them yards when they need them, unless what they needed was 1-2 yards (and even then they looked to pass).

[obnoxiousmime]

Vereen wasn't exactly guaranteed money throughout his career in NE, but he made plays in the Super Bowl. White just couldn't really make that one or two big plays he needed to make against one-on-one coverage, though that was affected by Brady needing to rush his throws.

Basically they took Gronk and Edelman (who both looked less than 100%) out and the other guys needed to beat their individual matchups. Martin, Amendola, and White couldn't do it often enough, though as I said Brady was often under duress and wasn't exactly throwing perfectly catchable throws.

[straightouttabahstun]

i can't imagine Marcus Cannon in a Patriots uniform next season. I understand he was a second string and all but man, that guy was just roadkill for the opposing teams defense all season.

[PhoSita]

You know, it makes it easier to deal with this Pats loss seeing the Panthers destroy the Cards tonight.

Nobody is beating the Panthers this year.  Nobody.  The Seahawks were the only team that had a shot.

[PhoSita]

i can't imagine Marcus Cannon in a Patriots uniform next season. I understand he was a second string and all but man, that guy was just roadkill for the opposing teams defense all season.

Pretty much everybody other than Wendell, Stork, Vollmer, and Solder were pretty bad this year -- and some of those guys were bad at times, too.

We've got a 39 year old QB now.  Need to have a stellar o-line and for the defense to continue improving in order to get somewhere with that.

[straightouttabahstun]

i can't imagine Marcus Cannon in a Patriots uniform next season. I understand he was a second string and all but man, that guy was just roadkill for the opposing teams defense all season.

Pretty much everybody other than Wendell, Stork, Vollmer, and Solder were pretty bad this year -- and some of those guys were bad at times, too.

We've got a 39 year old QB now.  Need to have a stellar o-line and for the defense to continue improving in order to get somewhere with that.

I thought David Andrews and Shaq Mason did great jobs given the scenario. Other than that, I agree with you. The O Line's improvement will be the priority this offseason. Everything else looks fine per usual. Unfortunately, the injury bug bit the Pats pretty darn hard this year. Well that and not taking their regular season opponents seriously. Should have had that Philly and Miami game. Those were easy grabs and they decided they wanted to play around with them instead of taking advantage of their inferiority. This game could have easily been played in Foxboro even with all those injuries.

[rondofan1255]

Oh well. I'll root for the Panthers in the SB

[obnoxiousmime]

The Nate Solder injury was really significant in the end, along with Vollmer being bothered by an ankle. I don't know how many teams carry a better backup tackle than Cannon, but he really was exposed by Miller. I believe he just signed a new deal last year so he might be hard to cut if they wanted to try and replace him.

LaFell I have to imagine is gone. To fall behind Keshawn Martin on the depth chart for the biggest game of the year, why is the guy even here???

[Sixth Man]

Panthers 38, Broncos 14...

[Quetzalcoatl]

They need way better guard play on the O line and that's pretty much their only weakness. Good season nonetheless and Carolina is going to smoke the Broncos. 

Kind of hard to root for either Carolina or Denver, though. The threats and homophobia stuff vs Odell Beckham kind of soured me on the Panthers