Patriots 2014 Postmortem
Season summary -
Offense -
Offense started off slow due to injured receivers and the Mankins trade, but after week 4 it was good to great the rest of the way.
Brady has been playing at the same level he's been at for the last few years, actually was a bit better this season in terms of mobility in and outside the pocket. He did seem to throw a lot of inexplicably horrible ints this year even though the overall volume of them wasn't high.
Gronkowski was back to his All-World self this year and he's the key to this offense being elite. Best TE of all time imo when healthy.
Julian Edelman was great again this year. He doesn't get wide open as consistently as Welker did in his prime during the regular season but he's a more explosive athlete which helps him be more effective against good defenses in the playoffs, which Welker wasn't really. He's also one of the best punt returners I've ever seen.
Brandon LaFell was a surprise great addition that gave them a decent outside WR threat for cheap. He's still not a true deep threat though.
Amendola had been beyond useless in NE up until about week 16 this year when he finally got healthy and provided a decent #3 WR receiving option.
Oline was a horror show up until week 5 when rookie C Bryan Stork solidified himself into the starting lineup and everything else fell into place pretty well. LT Solder sucked the first 5 weeks but I thought played good to great the rest of the way. RT Vollmer is a stud. Their guard play by Connolly/Wendell was passable but is in dire need of an upgrade.
After Ridley got hurt, Blount/Vereen held down the fort pretty well.
Offense should be even more explosive next year if Aaron Dobson gets healthy and provides a true deep threat. He showed promise his rookie year. I'm willing to bet their 1st round pick will be a guard.
Defense -
Best defense the Pats have had since 07, which isn't saying much in an of itself...
Once Brandon Browner came off suspension in week 7, their defense took off from there and played at a championship level the rest of the way. Except for the one stinker against Baltimore.
After a somewhat slow start, Darrelle took the league back Revis Island this year. Along with Browner, McCourty, and Chung(wtf, I know) playing at high levels, it's hard to throw on the Pats now. Particularly on 3rd down when they know you have to throw it. Pats opponents were 7-30 on 3rd down in the playoffs.
The biggest development was the emergence of Jamie Collins and Hightower at LB. They both broke out and played at a really high level this year. When Mayo comes back, this will be one of the best LB corps in the league.
They could use an upgrade over DE Ninkovich who I think is the most overrated player in Boston sports history. And I expect Malcolm "Asante Samuel 2.0" Butler to get a bigger role in the secondary going forward. Overall the Pats finally have a D that doesn't suck, yay! It's actually pretty good!
Spotlight - The 2014 Draft -
1 Dominique Easley DT:
Played just ok this year but I'm excited about his high potential. He's the DT version of Jamie Collins, could breakout next year if he adds weight and muscle this offseason.
2 Jimmy Garoppolo QB:
Wasn't huge on kinda wasting a pick on a QB, but has played well I guess in practice and in games.
4 Bryan Stork C:
Homerun pick as far as I'm concerned. Good starting caliber C that can run and pass block very well.
None of the other picks are anything special. RB James White could be a decent 3rd down back and big OT Cameron Fleming might switch to G next year and give us a stronger presence there.
What should/will happen this offseason -
Resign Revis to a long term extension. Reports out of Boston are that he loves it here and will take a bit of a hometown discount to stay. And the Krafts adore him. 0% chance this doesn't get worked out imo. Doing this in and of itself frees up a ton of cap space for them next year believe it or not.
Resign Devin McCourty to a long term extension. Is a team captain and Belichick loves him. If anything he'll get tagged
They basically just need to keep the team together, they don't really need to add much. Other key FAs are K Stephan Gostkowski, RB Shane Vereen, and DT Alan Branch. They should all easily be resigned once they restructure Mayo, Wilfork and/or cut Amendola and Kyle Arrington. Vereen could be gone if some team overpays him, in which case they could target another pass catching RB like Ahmad Bradshaw or CJ Spiller.
Summary -
This Pats dynasty is already one of the greats in the vein of the Steelers, Packers, 49ers, Cowboys dynasties, whether anyone now wants to admit it or not. Brady is already the best QB ever alongside Montana, whether anyone now wants to admit it or not. This dynasty is playing with house money now and any other chips they win from now on will be just gravy.
This could be a rough next 2 years or so for Patriots haters because the team already has a championship foundation on offense and defense and the arrow is pointing up on both. They have a great shot to repeat. If they're relatively healthy, they'll be big-time contenders for the next couple years at least.
We're on to 2015.
Season summary -
Offense -
Offense started off slow due to injured receivers and the Mankins trade, but after week 4 it was good to great the rest of the way.
Brady has been playing at the same level he's been at for the last few years, actually was a bit better this season in terms of mobility in and outside the pocket. He did seem to throw a lot of inexplicably horrible ints this year even though the overall volume of them wasn't high.
Gronkowski was back to his All-World self this year and he's the key to this offense being elite. Best TE of all time imo when healthy.
Julian Edelman was great again this year. He doesn't get wide open as consistently as Welker did in his prime during the regular season but he's a more explosive athlete which helps him be more effective against good defenses in the playoffs, which Welker wasn't really. He's also one of the best punt returners I've ever seen.
Brandon LaFell was a surprise great addition that gave them a decent outside WR threat for cheap. He's still not a true deep threat though.
Amendola had been beyond useless in NE up until about week 16 this year when he finally got healthy and provided a decent #3 WR receiving option.
Oline was a horror show up until week 5 when rookie C Bryan Stork solidified himself into the starting lineup and everything else fell into place pretty well. LT Solder sucked the first 5 weeks but I thought played good to great the rest of the way. RT Vollmer is a stud. Their guard play by Connolly/Wendell was passable but is in dire need of an upgrade.
After Ridley got hurt, Blount/Vereen held down the fort pretty well.
Offense should be even more explosive next year if Aaron Dobson gets healthy and provides a true deep threat. He showed promise his rookie year. I'm willing to bet their 1st round pick will be a guard.
Defense -
Best defense the Pats have had since 07, which isn't saying much in an of itself...
Once Brandon Browner came off suspension in week 7, their defense took off from there and played at a championship level the rest of the way. Except for the one stinker against Baltimore.
After a somewhat slow start, Darrelle took the league back Revis Island this year. Along with Browner, McCourty, and Chung(wtf, I know) playing at high levels, it's hard to throw on the Pats now. Particularly on 3rd down when they know you have to throw it. Pats opponents were 7-30 on 3rd down in the playoffs.
The biggest development was the emergence of Jamie Collins and Hightower at LB. They both broke out and played at a really high level this year. When Mayo comes back, this will be one of the best LB corps in the league.
They could use an upgrade over DE Ninkovich who I think is the most overrated player in Boston sports history. And I expect Malcolm "Asante Samuel 2.0" Butler to get a bigger role in the secondary going forward. Overall the Pats finally have a D that doesn't suck, yay! It's actually pretty good!
Spotlight - The 2014 Draft -
1 Dominique Easley DT:
Played just ok this year but I'm excited about his high potential. He's the DT version of Jamie Collins, could breakout next year if he adds weight and muscle this offseason.
2 Jimmy Garoppolo QB:
Wasn't huge on kinda wasting a pick on a QB, but has played well I guess in practice and in games.
4 Bryan Stork C:
Homerun pick as far as I'm concerned. Good starting caliber C that can run and pass block very well.
None of the other picks are anything special. RB James White could be a decent 3rd down back and big OT Cameron Fleming might switch to G next year and give us a stronger presence there.
What should/will happen this offseason -
Resign Revis to a long term extension. Reports out of Boston are that he loves it here and will take a bit of a hometown discount to stay. And the Krafts adore him. 0% chance this doesn't get worked out imo. Doing this in and of itself frees up a ton of cap space for them next year believe it or not.
Resign Devin McCourty to a long term extension. Is a team captain and Belichick loves him. If anything he'll get tagged
They basically just need to keep the team together, they don't really need to add much. Other key FAs are K Stephan Gostkowski, RB Shane Vereen, and DT Alan Branch. They should all easily be resigned once they restructure Mayo, Wilfork and/or cut Amendola and Kyle Arrington. Vereen could be gone if some team overpays him, in which case they could target another pass catching RB like Ahmad Bradshaw or CJ Spiller.
Summary -
This Pats dynasty is already one of the greats in the vein of the Steelers, Packers, 49ers, Cowboys dynasties, whether anyone now wants to admit it or not. Brady is already the best QB ever alongside Montana, whether anyone now wants to admit it or not. This dynasty is playing with house money now and any other chips they win from now on will be just gravy.
This could be a rough next 2 years or so for Patriots haters because the team already has a championship foundation on offense and defense and the arrow is pointing up on both. They have a great shot to repeat. If they're relatively healthy, they'll be big-time contenders for the next couple years at least.
We're on to 2015.
