New England has lost some considerable deep-field production this offseason." Patriots AnalysisPatriots’ deep passing game worked well in
2018
Jacob Bailey Jersey Boys , but faces big questions heading into 2019New,6commentsNew England has lost some considerable deep-field production this offseason.EDTShare
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ImagesOne of the most common misconceptions spread by those who just won’t
accept Tom Brady’s status as the greatest quarterback of all time surrounds his
deep passing. Chances are you have heard somebody with a platform and agenda but
little actual knowledge of the game call the future Hall of Famer a ‘game
manager’ (fun fact: every quarterback is a game manager) or a ‘system QB’ (fun
fact: every quarterback is a system QB) to diminish his accomplishments.Those
labels are often based on stats such as yards per attempt, that are largely
meaningless if not presented in a proper context. When we look a little closer
at the New England Patriots’ deep passing performance, however, we can see that
the team fared pretty well when Brady went down the field in 2018. While he
didn’t throw deep often — 11.1% of his pass attempts traveled 20+ yards — the
41-year-old was productive when he did.All in all, Brady attempted 77 such deep
passes during last year’s regular season and playoffs. Of those attempts, 28
were completed for a success percentage of 42.9%. That number may seem low, but
keep in mind that deep balls are generally low-percentage throws. New England’s
quarterback still ranked thirteenth league-wide in deep ball completion rate —
ahead of players such as Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, and Matt Ryan.Of
Brady’s deep completions, which went for a combined 837 yards, ten resulted in
touchdowns. Five of his incomplete passes, meanwhile, were dropped by the
targeted receivers while two more were intercepted by the defense resulting in a
passer rating of 106.4 — the eleventh highest among qualifying quarterbacks last
season. So no matter how you measure it, the Patriots’ deep passing game worked
quite well in 2018.Will anybody confuse the 2018 Patriots with their 2007 attack
that featured peak Randy Moss? Of course not, but it was still productive when
compared to the rest of the NFL. Keeping this productivity intact looking ahead
towards the 2019 season
Infant Kendarius Webster Jersey , however, could be difficult for the world champions. After all, the team lost the majority of its deep-field
receiving corps over the course of the offseason.A look at the deep-field pass
catchers from last year shows that:Patriots pass catchers on deep
targetsPlayerTargetsCatchesYardsTouchdownsInterceptionsPlayerTargetsCatchesYardsTouchdownsInterceptionsAs
can be seen, the list of Brady’s deep targets in 2018 is topped by three players
currently not on the Patriots’ 53-man roster: Rob Gronkowski announced his
retirement from the NFL in March, Chris Hogan joined the Carolina Panthers via
free agency, and Josh Gordon is still indefinitely suspended. Together, the
three men combined to be targeted on 43 of Brady’s 77 throws deep down the field
— a considerable number.The trio and fellow offseason departure Cordarrelle
Patterson made up a large portion of New England’s deep attack. For comparison,
the remaining pass catchers — Julian Edelman, Phillip Dorsett, James White, Rex
Burkhead — did not play that big a role in this area last season:Status of Tom
Brady’s deep targets in
2019StatusTargetsCatchesYardsTouchdownsInterceptionsStatusTargetsCatchesYardsTouchdownsInterceptionsWhile
Gordon’s status — he remains suspended but is expected to return to the team at
one point during the 2019 season — could change the entire outlook, New England
faces some questions when it comes to its deep passing game. The questions will
need to be answered not just by the players remaining from last year,
particularly Julian Edelman and Phillip Dorsett, but also by those who were
brought in during the offseason.The most prominent receiving targets in this
category are first-round wide receiver N’Keal Harry, free agency
acquisition/offseason workout standout Maurice Harris, and tight end Matt
LaCosse. As things stand right now, all three are projected to make the
Patriots’ roster this year — and to help replace some of the receiving
production lost since the team’s victory in Super Bowl 53.In that
game
Kendarius Webster Jersey Draft , the Patriots mostly relied on their underneath passing attack. But when Brady went deep — on 4 of his 35 pass
attempts, completing 2 for 54 yards — he was successful. In order for this
success to be continued in 2019, New England’s pass catchers will need to step
up whether they be named Julian Edelman, N’Keal Harry or Maurice Harris.
Deep-pass potential certainly exists with all of them, but a considerable level
of uncertainty still remains.One thing is certain, though: the Patriots won’t
suddenly become a bombs-away offense, but instead will continue to look for
mismatches and high-percentage plays in all parts of the field. They don’t need
a deep passing game to be successful through the air, but as 2018 shows it can’t
hurt to have the ability to challenge teams at all levels. It will be tough for
New England to add the veteran."The defensive tackle free agency market saw some
movement yesterday. First, the New England Patriots plugged Danny Shelton off it
by adding him to a one-year contract. Shortly after the former first-round draft
pick was re-signed by his former team, another highly selected interior defender
hit the open market: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided to release six-time Pro
Bowler Gerald McCoy in a cost-cutting move.McCoy spent all nine years of his
career so far in Tampa, and will immediately become a highly sought-after free
agency option given his résumé and experience. One team that immediately became
linked to him? That would be the aforementioned Patriots, despite bringing
Shelton back into the fold earlier that day. A story in the Tampa Bay Times is
the reason for the speculation surrounding the world champions.In it, Buccaneers
beat writer Rick Stroud wrote the following:How this ‘interest’ from the
Patriots really looked like is speculation at this point, but one has to wonder
whether or not the team would actually be willing to invest in a player like
McCoy. Neither quality nor need would be a deal-breaker: while New England is
pretty much set at the top of its defensive tackle depth chart with Lawrence
Guy, Mike Pennel and Adam Butler as the current top-three, adding a player of
McCoy’s caliber would tremendously upgrade the entire unit.However, the cost
associated with such a move would likely be an issue. Yes
Kendarius Webster Jersey NFL Jersey , McCoy might ‘sacrifice salary,’ as Stroud put it, but this sacrifice would have to be a major one for him to fit
under New England’s current salary cap: according to the Boston Sports Journal’s
Miguel Benzan, the Patriots are only $3.4 million under the cap even without
taking into account the recently reported two-year contract extensions for wide
receiver Julian Edelman and special teamer Brandon King.The problem from the
team’s perspective is that other clubs also categorized as ‘contenders’ are more
financially flexible than New England. Take the Indianapolis Colts, who are
almost $60 million under the cap (via OverTheCap.com) and are expected to be
among the better teams in the AFC this season. Or the Cleveland Browns, who may
not be a proven contender, but have plenty of talent and cap space.New England,
on the other hand, would likely have to free up considerable space to compete
with those teams for McCoy’s services. Could it happen? Certainly, considering
the Patriots’ knack for signing veteran players below their perceived market
value — luring them in with the outlook of playing for the most successful and
consistent team of the salary cap era, and under the league’s best head coach —
or structuring contracts to lessen the one-year impact of a deal.The club’s
current financial position makes it unlikely in McCoy’s case, however. ESPN
Boston’s Mike Reiss also sees it this way (slightly adapted from
Twitter-speak):Sure, the Patriots are the one team in the NFL to consistently
pull surprises out of their hat. But considering all the circumstances and the
market he is about to create, one should not expect the Patriots to
competitively be in the running for McCoy this offseason. Now that the words
have been written, of course, they will totally sign him to an infuriatingly
cheap deal and help him win his first Super Bowl...
