Here are the three biggest problems with the Patriots so far
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| AP Photo/Steven Senne |
The New England Patriots are 2-1 through the first three games. But if you went just off the reaction on Twitter you would think they were 0-3. The finger has been pointed at about everyone. From head coach Bill Belichick to the offensive line and even to Tom Brady himself.
While the Patriots have had plenty of issues so far this season, the sky over Gillete Stadium is no where close to falling. But they do need to clean up their play if they hope to beat the tougher competition they are going to face this season.
Here are three biggest problems that the 2014 Patriots have.
The Offensive Line
This if far and away the biggest problem with this Patriots team. The group was hit with two key losses during the offseason. Long time offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia retired and Logan Mankins was traded to Tampa Bay. Scarnecchia might be the biggest loss of the two. The lineman most definitely miss his leadership and his years and years of experience. He was always able to put them in position to succeed no matter what personnel he had available.
Mankins loss can't be understated either. While his play might have been on the decline he brought an nasty attitude to field that is needed in the trenches.
The offensive line is struggling in both run and pass blocking. Tom Brady has been sacked 7 times already. And knocked down countless more times. He isn't being afforded the time he needs to pick apart the defense. Resulting in rushed and inaccurate throws.
In the run game, especially in the hurry up run sets, they just aren't winning at the line of scrimmage. Resulting in running backs getting hit at or behind the line.
So how do they fix it? There aren't any free agents that they can sign that could come in and be an an upgrade and its highly doubtful they make a trade. That means that they are going to just have to man up and make it work. Although a call to Scarnecchia couldn't hurt either.
So how do they fix it? There aren't any free agents that they can sign that could come in and be an an upgrade and its highly doubtful they make a trade. That means that they are going to just have to man up and make it work. Although a call to Scarnecchia couldn't hurt either.
Penalties
The Patriots are usually a well disciplined team when it comes to penalties. That couldn't be farther from the truth this year. So far though three games the Patriots have 30 accepted penalties for 322 yards. That's an average of 10 per game!
While it's true that the Seahawks led the league in penalties last year en route to winning the Super Bowl, that doesn't mean it's alright for the Patriots to commit so many penalties.
Most of these penalties are coming on the offensive side of the ball. Resulting in the offense being behind in the down and distance and eventually having to punt the ball.
The most maddening penalty they keep committing? The pick play penalty. It's resulted in having several big plays called back. While they might have been able to get away with it in years past, the league has put in a "point of emphasis" on pick plays this year resulting in the refs watching closely. So either Mcdaniels needs to scrap these plays or the wide receivers need to do a better job of selling the pick plays.
Who is the 3rd receiver
While there has been a lot of talk of whether or not Tom Brady is forcing the ball to certain receivers the fact remains that Julian Edelman is producing most of the offense. What the Patriots really need is to find out who is going to step up and help take some of he pressure of Edelman and Gronkowski.
Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins have been taking turns being inactive so far this season. Dobson has shown flashes of being a deep threat but those flashes have been few and far between. Thompkins is a good possession receiver but the Brandon Lloyd is strong in him as he seems to want to go down as soon as he catches the ball.
Amendola and Lafell have been a stellar duo on those aforementioned pick plays but those don't count. Tim Wright is still learning the offense so his production could up and down during this process.
Amendola and Lafell have been a stellar duo on those aforementioned pick plays but those don't count. Tim Wright is still learning the offense so his production could up and down during this process.
So which one of these guys are going to step up?
What do you think? Are these the biggest problems the Patriots have so far or is it something else? Tell us in the comment section!
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