New England Patriots: 3 adjustments teams must make following bye
By Matt Fiore
Better tight end play
Whether its Rob Gronkowski, Ben Watson, Ryan Izzo, whoever at this point… someone needs to step up at the tight end position.
Tom Brady desperately needs a high operating tight end back in the offense.
Izzo has shown flashes here and there, while Watson has had limited roles since joining the team Week 6. But, as no one has really stepped up on the role, the New England Patriots have been relying solely on Julian Edelman, and recently Mohamed Sanu.
This is not a successful formula either.
Edelman has taken a beating so far with north of 10 targets per game. You’re almost playing with fire at this point. If you lose Edelman to injury because of an overload, do you really wanna enter a playoff game without Edelman and Gronk?
The Patriots must find the answer at tight end. This would take a great amount of pressure off every single player on the offense. It could also definitively separate the Pats from the rest of the AFC.
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In all, the New England Patriots tight ends rank dead-last through nine games with 8 catches for 242 yards and one touchdown. This drop-off in numbers is what makes the Patriots offense so one-dimensional.
Team’s simply just don’t have to worry about Gronk anymore, which shifts team’s defensive stars to other players like Edelman or James White in the passing game.