Brady and Amedola Issues

To this point Danny Amendola's Patriots career has been a disappointment. Injuries have taken their toll, and it seems like his time off the field has ruined any chemistry he and Tom Brady once had. Credit to Ben Violin for pointing these out. As they say a picture says a thousand words. Lets have a look below...

This was a pass play that went to Julien Edelman. As you can see, Amendola is circled above. You can also see that he's wide open for either a huge play or probably a touchdown. 

In this image Brady has Amendola wide open over the middle. Instead he forces it to Rob Gronkowski in double coverage.

Again, has Amendola over the middle but this time goes deep and again incomplete.

Now I understand Brady has a hard time getting on the same page with a receiver after a rough start, but he has to make this work. Amendola is far from perfect but you can see from these images he's getting open. If Brady's favorite receiver really is the open one then he needs to start throwing to it. I can't see Brady letting a personal issue getting in the way of the team's performance, but I don't think he's went blind all of a sudden either.  Seeing these images is pretty frustrating, but if we see it I doubt Bill Belichick will miss it. Hopefully its something that gets straightened out soon.

Patriots Pummel The Vikings

Good news everyone, the Patriots wont be going 0-16! Whew! Besides all of that, it was great to see the squad come to life on Sunday. Not having Adrian Peterson available was obviously a big factor, but with that big of a route I think it's safe to say the Patriots could have most likely survived Peterson having a solid day.

 The offense looked good and bad at times. The bad is clearly the receivers. Outside of Julien Edelman, Kendrell Thompkins and Rob Gronkowski it's obvious Tom Brady has zero trust in anyone else right now. Danny Amendola is a ghost yet again, Brandon LaFell is starting to prove his doubters right. I was defending him last week on Face book saying to give him a chance but if I see him not even thrown at for a second week I'm gonna start to think he's a bust myself. As for Aaron Dobson, I know it's the start of his second year but injuries and ineffective games are starting to ruin his career.

 Besides that, how about the positive? The offensive line was improved, however it's clear there's still work to do. I mentioned in last week's blog that the Patriots needed to add a blocking Tight End to the mix, and they just might have found that in Cameron Fleming. If last week was an indication of things to come from Fleming it could be a big positive for the offense. Yes they need receivers but they need a tight end that is able to block as well. Any Pats fan that can remember the days of Daniel Graham and Matt Light working together to make Dwight a non factor in their games knows how important this is.
Freeney

 Another positive is the commitment the team is showing to the running game. Even the harshest McDaniels critic should appreciate it. Even when Brady was as quiet as he was, the offense continued to move due to the running game. There was even a point where the running game started to throw the Vikings off, not knowing what was coming next. Giving a team with Tom Brady at the helm the element of surprise is a recipe for success. IF, and I emphasize IF the defense and running game are legit this year, I like our chances in the post season

 I'm running a little short on time, so I'll finish up here. I was very happy with the defense. This secondary looks like it's living up to the hype so far. Chandler Jones had arguably his best game as a pro playing on the edge. Adding a healthier Sealver Siliga to the mix with Vince Wilfork also made a positive impact on the running game. Outside of the first drive..All around A+ performance from this unit.

The Patriots still have some issues to address (receivers, OL) I still want to see more from the front 7 before I'm sold on them as well. But you have to be encouraged from what you've seen so far from this team. Outside of a second half collapse in Miami, they've played some pretty damn good football.

An honest look at the Miami Meltdown and what the Patriots need to do about it

So after yesterday's meltdown it seems that quite a bit of Patriots Nation is in full blown panic mode. As I wrote in yesterday's Blog, there are certainly questions that need to be answered with this team (I'm looking at you, O & D lines..) but it's too early to have a full blown panic attack and I'll give you my reasons why...

• Going into the game the Dolphins we're hyping their new look offense. Keep in mind that their new offensive coordinator, Bill Lazor, was the same guy calling plays for an explosive Eagles offense last season. Although Vince Wilfork says that nothing confused the Patriots defense, one has to wonder if the different feel of a new offensive attack took the Patriots by a bit of a surprise. 
• This is more of a personal observation and I'm sure some will disagree, but I am starting to question if Wilfork is the same guy at stopping the run. Although losing him didn't help matters last season, they were still having trouble containing the run with Wilfork in the game. Yesterday the defensive line was getting pushed around almost all day long. I'm not ready to write him off yet but I'm starting to get concerned considering his latest injury and current age.
• The Wide Receivers need to step up. What a surprise, another season and we're talking about Tom Brady's weapons. Aaron Dobson is hurt yet again and Brandon Lafell had a performance to forget yesterday afternoon. I still think Lafell will have a decent season this year (the question is will it be enough) but Dobson's constant injuries are starting to become a problem. If Dobson doesn't pan out that will make things sketchy yet again at receiver. Kendrell Thompkins looked good yesterday but has yet to prove to be consistent, Rob Gronkowski didn't play all of preseason and it's obvious he still has some rust to shake off. Outside of Julien Edelman there's no sure bet at receiver for Brady at the moment. It's time for the new/younger guys to prove themselves.
• OL/DL...Hopefully Bill Belichick doesn't go into next week with musical chairs as part of the game plan. The Offensive line needs to get things right and they need to do it fast. If this turn style crap along the Oline continues so will the offensive struggles. The defensive line might want to consider going more 4-3 this week. The Patriots have always adjusted their Defense rather then play one set style and I expect this week to be no different. Although you would normally go 3-4 for the run, if the defensive line continues to struggle with 3-4 gap assignments I think going more of a one gap, attacking 4-3 style would help out. 

That's all for today, hopefully the team has put Miami behind them and is ready to take out some frustration on the Vikings this weekend.