New England Patriots: 3 biggest obstacles heading into 2018 NFL season
By Ryan Feyre
2. A thin receiving core
Tom Brady has shown he can play with any receivers throughout his storied career. The best group he ever played with was probably the 2007 crew featuring Troy Brown, Randy Moss and Wes Welker.
Normally however, Brady usually has only one or two solid receivers, and the genius of Belichick usually assists with player development. Recently, receivers in New England have become a revolving door.
Brandin Cooks acted as a one-year rental in 2017 before signing a large contract with the Los Angeles Rams. Danny Amendola signed with the Miami Dolphins.
Belichick is also great at finding talent (a la Chris Hogan during the 2016-17 Super Bowl run). Even with the thin receiving corps in 2011, the Pats still made the Super Bowl.
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However, this year seems different, and even more unusual. Star receiver Edelman is out for the first four games because of his PED suspension.
As mentioned before, Amendola is on Miami now, and Cooks is gone to New Orleans. On top of that, James White left for the Tennessee Titans, and although he’s listed as a running back, Belichick definitely enjoy using him in the slot position.
Even former Bills deep threat Jordan Matthews was released, and Eric Decker retired. For at least the first four games of the season, the Pats will start with Cordarelle Patterson (who’s usually a special teams guy), Phillip Dorsett (who only caught 12 passes in 2017), and Chirs Hogan as their main group.
According to The Ringer, Tom Brady was fifth in average pass length in 2017, but with lesser options, Brady may need to return to the short ball, namely with guys like James White and Rex Bulkhead.
Hopefully, Edelman can return without any rust. Fans shouldn’t also forget, we still have Rob Gronkowski; the greatest tight end ever when healthy.