The good news about watching the All-22 offense is that they don’t have a lot of plays so it doesn’t take very long! But seriously folks, taking an emotionless look back at what has been haunting us all week really helps.
Things are never as bad as everyone would have you believe and I actually came away from the re-view with a feeling like this offense will take strong strides soon.
I continue to believe the offenses struggles start with the offensive line and they started in training camp. They are not a coordinated unit yet and the sooner they can stick with a starting five, the sooner things will get better.
I thought the pass protection was better in this game. They still had their problems, but there were plenty of times where Brady had the time he needed. The third quarter sack where Hali went right around Solder was a tough play – Hali got a perfect jump on the snap. Not sure any LT has the quickness to get over on him when that happens.
Connolly looked a little lost, especially when asked to pull. As Greg Bedard pointed out this week, he just hasn’t repped at LG very much and I agree that it shows. He took some bad angles and was a little slow pulling. But I did see him improve a bit over the course of the game.
But what is most troubling to me about the offensive line is their downfield blocking. It’s rarely clean and that doesn’t leave much room for the ball carrier to avoid the free hitter. The backside linebacker made plenty of plays for the Chiefs as the Pats OL just didn’t seem to have the quickness or keep their blocks sustained long enough to open up a big play hole.
Stork was solid outside a couple plays and I think he should get the starting nod again. He earned it. And he is a master of picking up his fellow Patriots off the ground.
Communication for the entire OL is still not where it needs to be and a lot of the interior pressures were the result of miscommunication by Connolly and the two rookies. That’s understandable. It will get much better with experience.
I thought Wendell actually looked okay at left guard. At least he had some quickness and athleticism to get to the second level. If Fleming is out this weekend could we see a Wendell-Stork-Connolly interior?
Brandon LaFell had one of the few positive days and the more i see of him, the more I understand why the Patriots coaching staff likes him. He’s got size and physicality, and he fits the Pats underneath offensive focus.
Wish Tim Wright could get more involved. He’s another one that looks like a perfect fit for what they do, but we do know it takes time in this offense.
Brady’s first interception seemed just lazy to me, like he was trying to force it. Even if Edelman kept running it still would’ve been picked I think.
Tons of single high safety looks with stacked boxes. Understandable why Brady took a shot to Edelman on the second play of the game. Hopefully when that’s Dobson he can separate a little better. But I also think Brady thought it was press, which Edelman could’ve gotten off of to get free, but the corner bailed just before the snap and already had a running start going down the field.
Garoppolo is clearly a good fit for what the Pats do and it’s a minor silver lining that he got two drives in this one. His release is quick even by NFL standards and that will make him efficient and tough to sack.
Finally, everyone has a theory as to what is wrong with the Pats offense. The simple truth is that the machine isn’t working yet. We can debate which pieces don’t fit or are declining or sub-par, but there are pieces in place to make the machine run far better than what they showed here.
Developing the downfield blocking is a concern, because guys don’t suddenly get more athletic, but as far as the passing game they will be able to protect Tom Brady eventually. Hopefully this weekend. Once that domino falls and becomes consistent, they’ll be back to the kind of offense we expect to see.
Finding that consistency could decide the fate of the season.
