Patriots offense has room for improvement
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| Tom Brady under center against the Minnesota Vikings, via CBS Boston |
The Patriots weren't awful on offense by any means, as Tom Brady was 15/22 for 149 yards and a touchdown, and 4/5 with the touchdown against the blitz. The offensive line also improved as Brady was only sacked once and hurried three times, and Stevan Ridley ran for 110 yards on 25 carries.
Unfortunately, the Patriots only had one solid scoring drive and that came in the first half. The other Patriots points came off a Devin McCourty interception return to the one yard line, a Chandler Jones blocked field goal and TD return to close out the second half, and three field goals due to the Patriots major issue on the day...third down efficiency.
The Patriots were 5/14 on third down. That's terrible for a team that is typically very good in third down situations. A lot of those third down failures came while we were driving into Minnesota territory This is due to penalties, but also offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels' play calling.
It was obvious the Patriots were trying to take the load off Tom Brady and run more, which I understand. I don't want Brady throwing 56 passes as he did against Miami. That being said, the run wasn't working all that well because it got to a point where we were doing it so consistently they expected it. Ridley ran for over 100 yards but some of those came when running on second/third and long, which is typically a sign that they don't believe the chances to convert so instead of risking a turnover, they run it against a pass defense.
When the Patriots did throw it during the game, it was pretty successful, as Brady's numbers show.
I have no problem with running the ball, but the situations in which McDaniels chose to do so were strange. Mixing a run on second and long is never a bad idea, but it's bad when you consistently do it, and it consistently doesn't work. It really put us in tough situations on third down.
When you go 5 for 14 on third down, something needs to change the next week because whatever they were doing wasn't working. I'm not saying abandon the run, but if it isn't working, don't be stubborn. Move to the pass, which will then set up the run.
Of course, a lot of the unsuccessful third downs came when the Patriots had a huge lead and were burning clock, but that doesn't mean they aren't trying to convert them. You never want to give the ball back to the other team. The offense could have executed a lot better than it did, specifically on third down and with the play calling.
With that said, it was a step in the right direction. The offensive line was much better, and Brady was solid. The next step is finishing drives and turning field goals into touchdowns.
I don't want this to sound negative, because I'm very optimistic about this offense. It is trending upwards and it will continue to get better, but there is always room for improvement.
Last week, the focus was on the offensive line and they fixed that up. This week, the focus will be improving on third down and avoiding tough situations due to poor play calling. Should they fix that up, the sky is the limit for this talented offense.
all stats via PFF
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