Bye Week Breakdown: The Offense
FOXBORO (CBS) - With the New England Patriots on a mini-vacation for their Bye Week, the WBZ-TV Sports team is breaking down the season so far.
Dan Roche and Levan Reid start with the Patriots offense, one of the best attacks in the NFL through six weeks.
It all starts with quarterback Tom Brady. If he's not putting up 400+ passing yards per game, Brady is leading the team on a fourth quarter comeback. But the offense has evolved a bit over the last few weeks. What are the Patriots doing differently, something that separates them from their offensive attack from 2010?
Dan and Levan Talk Patriots Offense
As for Brady's targets, who does the offense revolve around? Wes Welker is leading the NFL in receptions and receiving yards, but Roche and Reid say the offense runs through their two young tight ends; Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski.
Read: Levan Reid's Patriots Blog
Gronk may get the touchdowns, but Hernandez is a "nightmare" matchup for opposing defenses. Brady targeted Hernandez 14 times against the Cowboys, and another nine times against the Jets (with a leg injury). In those two games, Hernandez has a total of 13 catches for 124 yards and a touchdown.
Read: Brady Lands On Most Influential Men of 2011 List
Then there is the offensive line. After losing starting center Dan Koppen in the first game of the season, and Sebastian Vollmer's back keeping him out of all but one game, the offensive line has actually done a solid job protecting Brady. The Patriots have gotten major contributions from the likes of Brian Waters and rookie Nate Solder, and allowed just 11 sacks so far (seven coming the last two weeks against the Jets and Cowboys).
So far, it seems liken everything is clicking for the Patriots offense. Except Chad Ochocinco of course...
