Dein erstes Forum » After slowly starting into the 2018 regular season

the New England Patriots’ offense has turned Cheap Ja'Whaun Bentley Jersey the corner over the last three weeks. Thanks in part to the emergence of rookie running back Sony Michel and Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon becoming bigger parts of the passing offense, Tom Brady and his teammates scored an average of 39.7 points over their last three contests – all wins, by the way.This is a noticeable improvement when compared to the 19.0 average the unit had through the first three games this year. One of the key reasons for the team’s recently improved output is its success in the red zone: the Patriots scored touchdowns on 10 of their 14 red area trips over the last three games; they are also 7 of 11 when it comes to converting goal-to-go situations.When looking at the season-long statistics, New England has now improved to 15 of 22 in the red zone. Furthermore the team scored six field goals, and had one turnover. While not perfect, there is a lot to like about the efficiency deep in the opponent’s territory – and one reason why the Patriots have had plenty of success inside the opponents’ 20-yard line is a player that has seen a limited number of passes thrown his way in the red area this season.Rob Gronkowski, he of 56 red area scores to his name in his career, was the target of just two passes counted as red area throws: he caught a 21-yard touchdown in week one (a penalty had pushed New England back, but it still counts as a red zone trip) Kyle Van Noy Jersey , was the target of an incompletion in week four, and saw a pass knocked out of his hands for an interception in week five.When compared to the Patriots’ other receiving options, Gronkowski is having a quiet season so far in terms of red zone usage. Overall, four players have seen more than his three targets in this part of the field:All four players have proven to be valid red zone threats but it is still noteworthy to see them receive at time noticeably more targets than a 6’6, 265 lbs tight end who is one of the best red zone receivers of his era. That being said, Gronkowski is still having an impact on New England’s red zone offense simply because of his presence: having him on the field forces defenses to account for him, often with more than just one player.This, in turn, frees things up elsewhere and allows players like James White to take advantage. While it would be nice to see Gronkowski get more red zone targets – effectively speaking he was thrown just one pass inside the 20 http://www.patriotscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-trent-brown-jersey , the same number as fullback James Develin – he still plays a big role. This role does not come up on the stat sheet, sure, but it is important nevertheless. It also could change again in the future.With James White, Julian Edelman, and Josh Gordon all available now, defenses are faced with a “pick your poison” situation. Should they continue focusing on Gronkowski? Or should they try to stop one of the other players that have seen more red zone targets than him? This decision opposing coordinators will have to make could again create more opportunities for the NFL’s best tight end.And of course for James Develin as well.For the sake of completeness, here is the full table of the Patriots’ red zone targets through six weeks:Football Outsiders projects the Patriots that will step up during Julian Edelman’s suspension Every year, Football Outsiders releases their Almanac to preview the upcoming NFL season. We spoke with Rivers McCown of Football Outsiders to get the inside scoop on the New England Patriots. Click here to purchase the Football Outsiders Almanac!The Patriots have historically ranked extremely well on offenses, but they’ll be without Julian Edelman for the first four weeks and will have to replace #1 wide receiver Brandin Cooks and #1 running back Dion Lewis. Which players on the roster are most capable of stepping up to fill the void of production?I really like and agree with the idea that Rex Burkhead is going to pick up a lot of the offensive slack over the first four weeks of the season while Julian Edelman is suspended. We could see James White gaining some yards David Andrews Jersey , too, but it will be the running backs that Tom Brady will rely upon to start the season.Without Edelman, the top targets will be Rob Gronkowski and Chris Hogan and I think Cordarrelle Patterson will be able to carve out a niche role in the offense with 5-10 touches per game.But I expect Brady to dump the ball off to Burkhead and White to gain yards after the catch as much as possible to supplement the typical short routes of Edelman.What are some areas of Tom Brady’s game that he improved in 2017? Any notable areas of decline? I asked this question because Brady has improved upon different facets of his game in each of the past four years. In 2014, Brady worked on his mobility and moving outside of the pocket. In 2015, he worked on his pre-snap reads and motions to evaluate opposing defenses and win the down before the ball is snapped. In 2016, Brady really improved his deep ball. In 2017, he improved his ability to throw while pressured.It’s fair to ask if there’s anything else that Brady has left to improve. He’s accurate and decisive and he can make all the throws. It’s unreasonable to expect him to throw with more zip at his current age, but he’s also not showing any signs of decline.I think McCown’s description of an “oops throw” is probably the most accurate way to describe Brady’s biggest (last remaining?) flaw. Brady’s always good for a jaw-droppingly dumb interception three or four times every year, usually early on a drive where he forces the ball to a double-covered receiver for no reason or when he panics under pressure and just throws the ball up instead of eating the sack.Between 2001-12 Elandon Roberts Jersey , Brady threw 15 red zone interceptions over 949 pass attempts (1.58%). Over the past five seasons, Brady has thrown 10 red zone interceptions over 480 pass attempts (2.08%). It’s worth noting that Brady commit three of these interceptions in each of 2013, 2014, and 2015, and only one over the past two seasons (Eric Weddle, December 2016), so perhaps this isn’t an issue at all.So we’re really just splitting hairs here. If Brady doesn’t decline, he’s the best quarterback in the league and there’s no reason to expect him to decline in 2018.