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After two months of inconsistent play with an inconsistent offence, the Patriots and their quarterback Tom Brady come out of their bye week rested and ready for the back half of the season.
Now, after putting up 55 points on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 9, the most any team has scored in a single game this year, the question needs to be asked: should the AFC once again be worried about Brady and the New England Patriots?
Absolutely they should.
That’s not to say it wasn’t easy for them to get back to form. When the Patriots came into the season the team had some undeniable issues on offence.
Losing the veteran slot receiver Wes Welker and starting from scratch at wide out clearly wore on the veteran quarterback, as rookie receivers Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompson had a wide range of issues from running the wrong routes to simply being unable to catch the ball.
The signing of slot receiver Danny Amendola could have helped if he hadn’t missed four games due to injury.
And tight end Rob Gronkowski has only been able to play in the last three games after coming back from his own injury.
Lest we forget the team’s other tight end, Aaron Hernandez, is no longer with the team for obvious reasons.
The running game was not immune to trouble, either.
Fumbles, coupled with uneven play from Stevan Ridley and an early injury to third-down back Shane Vereen stunted the Patriots’ rushing attack.
It’s fair to say the Patriots had a miserable start to the year offensively, but the fact is they managed to win regardless. Now, with a 7-2 record moving into the second half of the season it’s clear they’re back on track.
The improvement starts with the quarterback himself.
Exposing vulnerabilities in a defence is what Brady is known for, perhaps almost at the same level as Peyton Manning, but against the Steelers in Week 9 he was at his best, carving up their defence with his 151.8 quarterback rating the third best of his career.
Obviously having a full complement of weapons at his arsenal has helped.
His most beloved target, tight end Gronkowski, is clearly back to his All-Pro form and already has 19 catches for 284 yards and a touchdown in just three starts.
The Patriots’ free agent slot receiver, Amendola, has also found his feet in limited starts to the tune of 23 catches for 296 yards and a touchdown.
The rookie receiver, Dobson, who for the first few games of the season was battling for his place on the depth chart with fellow rookie Thompkins, appears to have solidified his place as the team’s No. 1 deep threat.
Now the rookie has 31 catches for 454 yards and four touchdowns on the season. His Week 9 effort included an 81-yard bomb that saw him easily blow down the sideline as the Patriots’ definitive deep threat.
Having Amendola and Gronkowski back in the line-up has clearly benefitted Dobson, who will likely continue to see single coverage for the rest of the season as a result.
Finally, with the receiving weapons back in place, the running backs have begun to find some space. Against the Steelers Ridley rushed 26 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns, giving the Patriots back the second dimension to their offence.
For the Patriots, the return of their weapons to both health and effectiveness should be a welcome relief for the team. Suddenly the core group (Ridley, Amendola, Gronkowski and Dobson) could represent one of the best offensive units in the league.
While Peyton Manning and the Broncos clearly have the edge when it comes to offensive personnel (receivers Wes Welker, Eric Decker, Demaryius Thomas, Julius Thomas and running back Knowshon Moreno), if they can stay healthy, it’s not outlandish to consider the Patriots a close second in the AFC in terms of pure offensive weapons.
The NFC has plenty of big-play offences such as the Packers, Lions, Saints and Cowboys. But in the AFC who else could challenge the Patriots other than the Broncos?
The Colts and Chargers have performed well on offence this season, but have both suffered injuries to their receiving corp, hampering their development (although in the Colts’ case, not too much, T.Y Hilton has been great in the absence of Reggie Wayne).
The Texans have surprised with the switch to quarterback Case Keenum, but still can only rely on veteran Andre Johnson for 90 percent of their offensive output and have lost Arian Foster for the rest of the season.
The Bengals could step up on offence, certainly, and they welcome the development of running back Giovani Bernard along with with superstar receiver A.J. Green. However, they often suffer inconsistent performances from quarterback Andy Dalton.
It’s not a stretch to consider the Patriots offence better than all four of the above teams.
We should be hesitant to blow their Week 9 performance out of proportion. But the fact is the Patriots looked like the Patriots we’d come to expect them to be before the start of the season.
And now they’re coming off a bye, eager to prove they’re still one of the best teams in the conference.
While the common notion that an elite quarterback can make his receivers elite certainly took a hit with Brady’s lacklustre start to the season — and perhaps, also evidenced by the Falcons and Matt Ryan — it’s clear what somebody like Brady can do when he has all his tools available to him.
For this reason, the AFC should be on notice. Tom Brady and the Patriots’ high-powered offence are back.
Week 10 Notes
I didn’t give the Carolina Panthers enough credit coming into the season, but it’s clear they’ve developed into a quality team after beating the San Francisco 49ers 10-9. That No. 2 ranked defence is no joke.
Two previously winless teams found their first W’s of the season this week, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Good for them, but both will still be drafting a quarterback with their first pick in April.
Aussie punter Mat McBriar had a solid performance in his second start this season with the Steelers. He punted five times for a 36 yard average, including one within the opposition 20-yard line.
Fellow Aussie Sav Rocca might not have a job this time next year. A terrible blunder on a fake punt stood out in the Redskins loss to the Vikings. It might not have been his fault, but he’s still had plenty of very short punts and long returns, too.
It’s hard to read too much into the St. Louis Rams’ win over the Indianapolis Colts. Hello Tavon Austin, we’ve been waiting for you to break out. Clearly the Colts have to find a way to run the ball better.
What to watch in Week 11
It’s hard to look past the Kansas City Chiefs at the Denver Broncos on Sunday Night Football this coming week. Kansas City has copped a lot of criticism recently despite their unbeaten record. I imagine beating the Broncos would shut a lot of critics up, if they can pull it off.
The 49ers and the New Orleans Saints should be a big-time shootout. It’ll be a treat to see how quarterback Drew Brees deals with the 49ers defence. I expect the 49ers in turn to run the ball like crazy to limit time of possession.
The best game might be the last one, when the Patriots take on the Panthers in Monday Night Football. As mentioned above, the Patriots offence looks back to their roots, but the Panthers’ defence has just been phenomenal.
What are you looking forward to in Week 11?
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