July is here and that only means one thing — Patriots football returns this month!
It’s been a crazy month for your trusted blogger, as I moved home from California and am currently typing this blog post from a new and improved Ministry of PatsPropaganda that sits approximately five miles from the 50-yard-line of Gillette Stadium! Yes, it means that I’m hoping to expand the blog, with more podcasts, live videocasts, plenty of trips to training camp and just as much Patriots coverage as I can squeeze in. Plenty more to come on all that this week as I slip back into the blogging saddle.
In the meantime I’ll be posting some tidbits from my season preview book, which you can pick up here for just $5 (plus 15% off everything in the Prop Shop through July 4th with the code MUSKET), and it features 38 pages of everything you could possibly want to know about the 2017 Pats. There are preview blurbs on every player, recaps of everything that happened this offseason, a full game-by-game prediction (spoiler alert — three out of four, twice), and of course my expert Bill Belichick Hoodie analysis.
I just updated the book to feature all the late offseason moves made by the team, including the Edelman extension and David Harris signing.
To kick things off here’s the offensive overview. Much, much, so much more to come…
2016 Offensive Stats
- Overall DVOA – 2nd
- Yards-per-Game – 4th (386.3)
- Passing DVOA – 2nd
- Points-per-Game – 3rd (27.6)
- Running DVOA – 17th
- Third Down – 45.8% (4th)
After struggling for years to find weapons who could assimilate into the offensive system, 2016 saw the Patriots suddenly with an embarrassment of riches. There were even enough to overcome the loss of Rob Gronkowski, which would’ve meant a death sentence in previous seasons.
Instead, Martellus Bennett, Chris Hogan and even rookie Malcolm Mitchell burst onto the scene and became key contributors. That’s what might be most impressive about the 2016 Patriots — everyone came through in the Super Bowl with a big play at one point or another. They were a team in every sense of the word.
In 2017, only Bennett departed, while the team refused to rest on their laurels, adding explosive wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who could take the offense to another unforeseen dimension, and running backs Rex Burkhead and Mike Gillislee, who should help aid a rushing attack that ranked 17th in DVOA.
Otherwise, the offensive line returns intact and with rookie reinforcements at tackle to account for Nate Solder, who’s entering the final year of his deal, and Sebastian Vollmer, who retired after missing all of 2016. The interior of the line is young and locked up long term. The pieces are in place to keep Tom Brady well protected in his final seasons.
James White had a breakout game in the Super Bowl, playing a part in almost every scoring play down the stretch, while Dion Lewis broke the AFC Divisional game open with a stunning kickoff return for touchdown.
And of course there’s Brady, who showed no dropoff in 2016, and is now surrounded with more weaponry than he’s ever had in his career. They might not have the over-the-top talent of Randy Moss, but they have a cavalcade of pieces who can all torch defenses in their own special ways. The options are seemingly endless and it’s amazing that a team coming off its second Super Bowl win in three seasons hammered down the throttle this hard in the attempt to repeat.
Looking toward the future, Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola are in their 30s but can still power the offense on key downs. The diminutive duo sparked the offensive transition in 2013 and have come through in clutch moments time and again over the last four seasons. Edelman earned a two-year extension this offseason, while Amendola restructured for the third-straight year to remain with the team.
As always, the offensive juggernaut just keeps on rolling and no one, outside of (maybe) Brady, is irreplaceable. 2017 has the potential to be one of the most exciting and dominant seasons yet.
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I feel like maybe I’ve lost my mind on the matter, but I really think everyone is not giving Dwayne Allen enough of a chance. I get he sounded off in mini-camp, but I think he’s a great fit. Bennett is obviously a better player, and I’m gonna miss the heck out of his personality, but I like Allen’s fit. He’s more of that Y-type TE which Brady loves. Tim Wright is out of the league and he got six touchdowns just by being in that mold of player. Hooman was also sort of that type and I think Pats fans underappreciated how good he could be at times for Brady.
Anyhow, I just think he’s a sleeper. Always liked him with the Colts.
Tough offseason to come to the Pats if you’re not a star already and that’s probably why he isn’t getting much attention. But swapping Marty for him is one of the only areas of change on the offense (cooks too obvs) so it’s an important area to watch, especially with Gronk’s health history. I love how BB pointed out how good of a blocker he is, seems like a guy willing to do the dirty work and those guys (kinda like Dan Graham?) can really become cornerstones. He’s definitely under the radar but I’m excited to see how he fits in.