The New England Patriots are playing poorly. If they want to have a shot in the playoffs they need these 5 players to improve.
Now I’m sorry to tell you this New England Patriots fans, but the team we know and love has gone missing. The Patriots are playing poorly and at the absolute worst time.
With New England’s loss in Week 15, they are now 9-5. This is the first time they have more than 4 losses in eight seasons.
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If the New England Patriots want to be succesful in the playoffs they need to play much better. When your special teams unit are the stars of the day it isn’t a good sign.
New England does have an easy schedule for the rest of the season. They play the Buffalo Bills in Week 16 and the New York Jets in Week 17. New England should enter the postseason with an 11-5 record.
If New England loses one (or dare I say both) of these games it is time to pound the panic button. The Bills and Jets are terrible football teams who should be trying to get the best draft pick. There is no reason for them to win.
So the Patriots will have a chance to get back on track and build momentum in these next 2 games. If these 5 players can find their game the Patriots will have a shot to win the Super Bowl.
1. Tom Brady
When you are such a great quarterback as Tom Brady it is hard to live up to expectations. For years we have thought that Brady had beaten “father time.” It looks like we declared defeat too early.
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This hasn’t been a great season for Tom Brady. The last time Brady had 9 interceptions was in 2014.
To put it bluntly, Brady has looked like a 41-year-old quarterback. He has made some horrible throws and horrible decisions.
Brady had a chance to do what he was known for best in Week 15. He had a chance to lead another 4th quarter comeback. But Brady and the offense shot themselves in the foot.
Whenever you see Brady driving down the field late in the game you think it is a guaranteed victory. Your confidence has to waver after this last game.
Brady’s wide receivers need to improve as well, but he isn’t off the hook. Brady needs to make better throws.
I have all the confidence in the world in Brady. I expect him to be dominant in the Patriots last two games. If he is able to do this the New England Patriots chances of winning a Super Bowl will be back from the dead.
2. James White
James White looked great for the majority of the season, but these last two games he has had some rather forgetful performances.
White has become one of Tom Brady’s favorite targets. He has over 100 targets this season which leads the team. In White’s last two games he only has 11 targets. For a period of time White was averaging double-digit targets a game.
So the New England Patriots need to get James White involved more. He is such a talented guy in open space. White knows how to make defenders miss and move the chains.
If the New England Patriots are able to get White involved it will help the entire Patriots offense. Tom Brady will have someone he can rely on and the other wideouts should be able to get open.
James White is a game changer and needs to be looked at as a major target moving forward.
3. Dont’a Hightower
Dont’a Hightower has been an important player for the Patriots over the years. He has made some important plays and has been a leader on New England’s defense.
Hightower needs to be better stopping the run. The Patriots defense has allowed some rather unknown guys to run up and down the field. When you are the defensive captain the blame falls on you.
The Patriots need Hightower to improve in the pass rush. When Hightower is in the backfield he makes life difficult for opposing QB’s. He is able to strip quarterbacks and change the momentum of a game.
We saw this in the Patriots epic 28-3 quarterback when Hightower was able to strip Matt Ryan. Hightower became a defensive hero.
Imagine having Hightower and Trey Flowers dominating at the line. Quarterbacks will have no time to get rid of the ball.
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The Patriots need Dont’a Hightower to dominate and cause constant pressure.
4. Rob Gronkowski
This has been a pretty rough season for Rob Gronkowski. He has had to deal with more injuries and has been a relative no factor in most games.
Gronkowski won’t be reaching 1000 receiving yards and only has 43 catches. He has been basically a non-factor.
What is even worse is that Gronkowski only has 3 touchdowns this season. We are used to seeing Gronkowski rack up the touchdowns, this season there haven’t been a lot of Gronk spikes.
Gronkowski was great in Week 14, but Week 15 was a return to poor play. He only had 2 catches for 21 yards.
The Patriots need Gronkowski to be better. When he is racking up the catches the Patriots offense is doing good.
For the Patriots and Gronk, the most important thing is getting Gronkowski going in the red zone. Gronkowski is such a physical presence. Since he is such a humongous guy, Gronk is able to make some amazing catches.
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Once Gronkowski gets in the end zone, his game will improve, and that means the New England Patriots will improve.
5. Jason McCourty
Jason McCourty surprised fans with his play early on, but as of late he has looked like a completely different corner.
At the beginning of the season, McCourty was locking down wide receivers left and right. Now it isn’t going so well. These last two games haven’t been the best for McCourty. When you have 9 tackles in a game at corner it isn’t a good sign.
Stephon Gilmore is a great corner, but he can’t do it all. The Patriots need McCourty to be a solid corner. If you have two quality corners it is hard for a defense to get the passing game going.
The Patriots have some work to but you can’t lose hope. I will say it time and time again, I won’t count out Tom Brady and Bill Belichick until the clock strikes zero.
As long as these guys get better, the New England Patriots will have a chance to win a Super Bowl.