With all of this hype surrounding Moss, Stallworth, Welker, and Thomas, people seem to forget what was once the source of most conversations: the Patriots Tight End situation.
Let’s think about what all of the current moves mean to the production of Ben Watson and David Thomas. These two pass catching machines are going to have GREAT opportunities in the new offense. If you line up Moss and Stallworth outside, put Welker in the slot, and have either Faulk or Maroney in the backfield, SOMEONE is going to be open. The most likely scenario? A safety is going to have to come over to help cover Moss. The other safety is going to have to make a decision: help out against Stallworth or Watson/Thomas. We all know that if Watson is left in man to man with a linebacker, it’s all over. This is going to be Watson’s breakout year. Thomas could see some great numbers, too.
On paper, this looks like the best Pats offense we’ve seen in a long, long time. Brady could put up Manning like numbers, Maroney could rush for 1200+, and Randy could see 12 TDs.
1 Comment
June 27, 2007 at 12:59 pm
It seems like every year there’s yet another player ready for a break-out year. Last year is was Benjamin Watson; this year, it’s Ben Watson AND Laurence Maroney. I agree with you in spirit, but it seems like this Brady/Belichick offensive scheme is immune to break-out years. The fact is, you’re more likely to see three 700 yard receivers than one 1,000 yarder.
While this move towards a WR-based receiving corp could signify a change, I still see another plodding, determined offense going on longer drives, with the threats at WR opening up more room underneath for guys like Watson and Maroney. It’s this kind of gameplan that keeps our Aging defense in games against explosive offenses like the Chargers, Bengals, and Colts.
All said and done, we’re probably more likely to see 5 or 6 yard dump-offs to Heath Evans and Kyle Brady than 20+ yard bombs to Moss and Stallworth.