Tom Brady isnt exactly what i'd call elite anymore. He is a cardboard box now standing in the pocket. A small breeze knocks him over these days. His WR's outside of Gronk all suck and have hard times getting open. The Patriots fold when a defense shows any semblance of a pass rush.
Their run game however is better than its been in years past. Im more worried about their run game than Brady and the pass game honestly.
Their defense is very vulnerable too.
I see us scoring big on them.
You characterization of Brady is as a sitting duck in the pocket has been oft stated over the last 14 years and has been consistently wrong. Having never been fleet of foot, he's always had escapability in the pocket. Having watched two of NE's last three games (Denver, Detroit), as well as the Buffalo game, I see no diminishment in his skills.
You're right about the WRs. Belichick has made a conscious decision to avoid spending much in the way of cap or picks on wideouts for several years now. And the ones he does put out on the field, mostly cheap free agents, don't stick around very long.
The offensive scheme has morphed into playing mostly 9 on 9 between the numbers with the wideouts serving mostly to occupy cornerbacks, mixing run with a TE/slot receiver/tailback (or whatever you want to call Edelman) centric pass game. I don't think Brandon LaFell strikes fear in anybody's heart, and evidence would indicate he's not supposed to.
The first half of the Detroit game was a clinic in Belichick-ball of recent years. Short slants, short crosses, zone sit- downs and seams, short outs, swing passes, bubble screens, everything including the kitchen sink in the short passing game. NE had 24 points on the board before Brady threw down the field.
The clear intent is to neutralize the pass rush with quick-release passes, attacking the back 5 in the middle of the field.
And be forewarned, if you come to the game without a pass rush, Brady is still quite capable of going down the field. Or if you come to the game unable to stop the ground game, Belichick is content to run it down your throat all day. There's a lot of patience and a lot of take-what-they-give-you in this offense.
Like it or not, it's working.
As far as scoring on these guys, Revis is back to All Pro shutdown corner mode, and Browner's no slouch either.
