Football can be a very complex game and it can be a very simple game. The New England Patriots are making the game complex and forgetting to keep it simple.
No matter how good your quarterback is, you cannot become one dimensional on offense. The Patriots are very one dimensional on offense right now and this is making it easier for defenses. The offensive line is not as good as it used to be and the Pats cannot line up and run straight ahead. This has caused them to rely to heavily on the pass.
Defenses have realized this and since they do not fear the running game, they can lay their ears back and blitz Tom Brady to death. Brady is rushed and unable to set his feet before he throws, meaning many passes are inaccurate and out of time with the receiver's route. The Jets exposed this on Sunday, just as the Giants did in the Super Bowl two years ago.
To stop the blitz and pass rush, a team must run the ball, use the draw play, and execute the screen pass effectively. The Patriots have thrown 100 passes in two games. That is on pace to throw 800 passes in the season, which would break the NFL record by 109 passes. Conversely, the Patriots have only ran the ball 47 times in those 2 games.
Offensively you do not have to be perfectly balanced between the run and the pass but you cannot be one dimensional. If the Patriots do not start running the ball more they are going to struggle to even make the playoffs. Because they are unable to line up and run straight at people, they should spread the field with 3 or 4 receivers to create space and hand off out of the shotgun. In addition, the screen pass should be used as part of the running game.
No matter how good your quarterback is, if your opponent does not respect the fact that you will attempt to run the ball , the blitzing and heavy pass rush is coming all day long. Even if you can't run the ball well, you better make the effort so as to keep the defense honest. If your quarterback can't set his feet and throw, your success rate drops. Just ask Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, etc.
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