The offensive weapons are in place for the New England Patriots, but how will they be utilized?
Save for tight end, Tom Brady and Co. are fairly well-equipped as the 2019 season approaches. The Patriots own one of the deepest and most-talented running back stables in the NFL, and their pass-catching situation is a bit more stabilized with the return of Josh Gordon.
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So, what will be the Patriots’ M.O. on offense in the upcoming campaign? Rodney Harrison on NBC Sports’ “Football Night in America” explained what he expects to see from his former team.
“Just talking to coach (Bill) Belichick, he said offensively they’re going to have to find creative ways of doing things because they don’t have an outstanding receiving corps,” Harrison said. “I think they’re gonna run the ball, play-action pass. Whenever Ben Watson gets back — he’s suspended for four games — he’ll be a big part of that offense. Other than that, I think it’s the same thing: short, intermediate passes and running the football.”
The short passing game has proved to be the Patriots’ bread and butter in recent seasons, and even with deep threats like Gordon and N’Keal Harry in the mix, it would be foolish for New England to completely stray from what’s proven to be consistently successful. Julian Edelman is nearly unstoppable in the slot, and all of the Patriots’ RBs are capable pass-catchers. So yeah, you can expect Brady to quickly get the football into the hands of his playmakers and let them do their thing.
New England has one final tune-up game Thursday night against the New York Giants before opening its regular-season slate Sep. 8 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium.
