Diner Morning News: Patriots Offense

QUOTE: “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.” -- Dale Carnegie

FROM CHRISTOPHER L. GASPER OF THE BOSTON GLOBE… “I feel as good as I could possibly feel," (Tom) Brady said. "I don't think about (the knee). It doesn't bother me doing anything, so it's feeling really good. That's about as good as I can say. I'm real happy with where I'm at and coming out in these workouts. I'm happy to participate in them. That was something that was a big goal for me to be able to do."

Today, let’s pretend you’re Mike Pettine of the Jets, or Paul Pasqualoni of the Dolphins, or even Perry Fewell of the Bills, coming in to work, logging on your computer and being hit with all the “Tom Brady is healthy again” news. How do you think you might feel? On paper, the Patriots of 2009 with Brady and his healthy knee will be a challenge. How do you defend them? Is your team versatile enough, in terms of talent, to handle the Patriots? These questions will be bothering them all summer. They may leave the building on vacation, but their thoughts about handling the New England offense will never leave them.

When you watch the NBA playoffs, the one thing that’s always mentioned is style of play. You hear Charles Barkley say, “The Cavs needs to play fast, or the Lakers have the right tempo to win.” The manner of play that suits the team is critical, but great teams like Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls were a match-up nightmare. They could play any style because of the versatility of the players. As an opponent tried to match personnel, the Bulls would just shift their players’ positions, creating the match-ups they wanted. It made it impossible for an opponent to get the right match, or have the right players on the court at the right time. Hence, the reason for the Bulls’ ability to win multiple championships. (I’m not minimizing Jordan’s talents, but as we can see with Cavs and LeBron James, one man cannot win titles. It takes the right supporting cast, the right blend of talent, which the Cavs seem to lack. Talk about a team of mismatched players. More about that another day.)

In the NFL, the great teams have to be able to play any style. They have to be able to run, they have to be able to play a fast pace, a slow pace. If an opponent is able to take away their bread and butter, there should be an effective alternative. A one-dimensional team is never going to win a championship. Your team may not be dominant in one area, but it should function well enough to win.

In 2002, when I was with the Raiders, we went to the Super Bowl. In Week 1 against Seattle, we ran for over 200 yards. In Week 2, we threw the ball over 60 times — and were never behind. Later, when we played the Patriots, they took away the passing game, forcing us to run -- which we could do. Versatility within the offense is crucial.

How does this affect all the coordinators in the AFC East? Well, on paper, the Patriots have an explosive multi-dimensional offense that can be effective playing any style. If an opponent puts a nickel on the field, the Pats can run it well; if they stay base, the Pats can throw at will. But the key component that makes them so dangerous (besides having Brady back) is the versatility in their running backs.

The Patriots will have a “Fred Taylor offense,” they will have a “Sammy Morris offense,” they will have their basic Kevin Faulk role on third down, and Laurence Maroney will fill in. As an opposing coordinator, you must be aware of what they’ll do when certain backs are in the game. Do you have the right match on defense? Will they be able to exploit the defense, creating a mismatch in their favor? With Morris in the game, teams might expect more power; with Taylor in the game, more finesse. However, both backs are big, both are fast, both can catch and both can protect. Both can seemingly do the same kinds of things, but they do them in a different style, a different manner, which means the defense has to be versatile to handle each player.

The Patriots love to be in the three wide receiver formation, with Wes Welker in the slot. With Randy Moss away from Welker, he draws the rolled coverage, leaving the combination of Joey Galloway or Greg Lewis isolated alone in single coverage. But the weakest area when they spread the formation will be defending the paint (the area inside from tackle to tackle). And at this point, who is in the backfield will be critical to determine. Because even though Taylor and Morris can do all the same things, the run plays that make them most effective are slightly different, so the defense will need to cheat to “play the play.”

In spread formations, many feel the wideouts make the offense, but in reality, the back is the critical piece. Last year, without a healthy back, the Colts’ offense struggled. The Cards, without a dominating back, struggled. But the Titans, without great wideouts but with a great back in Chris Johnson, were very effective. The back’s talent makes the passing game more effective and creates more problems for the defense. The “passing to run” theory is what makes the running game of today’s football so effective, which is why the Patriots look good on paper.

They have everything you want in an offense: versatile players, a blend of old and new, a tough-minded team that, despite losing a great offensive coach in Josh McDaniels, will be explosive. In fact, this might be their most explosive team yet.

It will be interesting to see how the AFC East defensive coordinators defend the Patriots. I really hope they enjoy their summer vacations.

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