Why Moss Is Thinking Big In N.E.

Randy Moss is hyping the Patriots’ offense right now — and I happen to agree with him. Today, I’ll react to an interview Moss did with ESPN’s Tim Graham and tell you why I think the Pats’ offense will be the best in the league next season — and nearly unstoppable.

Why Now?

Because Moss has given everyone in the media reason to agree or disagree with his comments in a recent ESPN.com interview that the 2009 offense might capable of topping the one that ran through the 2007 season with a 16-0 record.

Sure, this team can be beaten, and this offense will struggle at times during the ’09 season (like everyone else), but we have to at least acknowledge that it’s going to be loaded from top to bottom.

I agree that the verdict is still out on Tom Brady, and I want to see him throw the intermediate passes that require him to step into his throws on his front leg and follow through, but I have to believe that he’s going to be ready to play.

Why? Because he will have almost an entire calendar year between football games. As disheartening as his ACL injury was last season, it couldn’t have come at a better time for Brady because it happened on opening day. Knee injuries — especially the ACL — are serious for any position in professional football, but the longer you have to rehab them, the better you are the following season.

And he’s just that good when it comes to the quarterback position. He can make every throw, and the team just added a couple of players to give him some more weapons.

The Big Additions

I have always heard varying opinions about Laurence Maroney as a feature back in this league, but from what I see, he’s capable of carrying a big workload — except that he doesn’t have to in New England.

The Pats added former Jags feature back Fred Taylor, and they still have Kevin Faulk in the mix. I expect them to share carries, and I also expect defenses to face fresh legs from the running back position in every game — something that makes a big difference in the fourth quarter.

But the Pats also added WR Joey Galloway, whom I talked about this morning when discussing impact players in the AFC East.

I think this was one of the bigger moves this offseason that hasn’t been talked about. Galloway is a deep threat, maybe one of the better deep threats in the game, and he’s playing with the No. 1 deep threat in the game in Moss.

From a scheme perspective, I’m not quite sure how you play them. Galloway is going to open up throwing lanes for Wes Welker, and he’s going to be able to stretch defenses enough for teams to respect his speed, forcing them to play a version of Cover 2, which allows the Patriots to run the ball against a seven-man front.

His speed is still respected by every defender in the league, and any time you put two deep-ball threats on the field at the same time, defenses become cautious and are forced to sit back in zones and protect the explosive play. If they do that, New England will change its attack and exploit defenses in multiple ways.

One thing I have continually written here is that the Patriots attack you in different formations and different personnel packages throughout a ballgame. They can grind the ball, they can use the vertical passing game and they can bleed their way down the field in the intermediate passing game.

They dictate to defenses, and that’s something that always separates them as an offense. They don’t allow you to play your game — because you play theirs.

How Good Can They Really Be?

I think very good, but good enough to beat Pittsburgh and Baltimore?

That’s the measuring stick when it comes to defenses in the AFC, and the NFL in general. If you can consistently move the ball against the attacking styles of both the Steelers and the Ravens, well, you can beat anybody.

There are going to be those in the media who point to Brady’s knee after every throw and question if he’s all the way back, just as they’ll question the ages of Moss, Galloway and Taylor.

I agree that it’s only May, but NFL teams are working right now in their mini-camps and OTAs for a reason. They’re beginning to install their packages on offense, and they’re beginning to see what they have in terms of personnel going forward into the summer and training camp.

Along with Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, there isn’t an offense that’s more prepared to score points in ’09 than the Patriots. Sure, Moss is using the media to hype his own team and his talent, but I find it hard to argue with him when I look at their roster, and believe Brady will be back slinging the football around the field.

This offense, as Moss says, is loaded. 

Comments

Add a Comment