Time for Pats to move on from Brady, Gronk?

[PhoSita]

I think at this point, whatever Gronk gives the Pats is a bonus.

They've got to look for ways to add one or two reliable pass-catching tight ends.  Ideally you'd find a Julius Thomas / Jordan Cameron type, but if not, they could at least try to find a Dennis Pitta / Coby Fleener type.

As for Brady, the notion of moving on before he retires is a little absurd.  Brady, though not head and shoulders above every other QB, is still elite in this league (he may have looked inferior to Peyton on Sunday, but let's not forget he outplayed Luck handily the round before). 

You can still win a championship with Tom Brady, you just need to put a talented, balanced team around him.  In another year or two they can start worrying about drafting somebody to eventually replace him (Mallett is probably not the guy).

[Celtics4ever]

I think when Brady is done so too, will be the Patriots.

[PhoSita]

I think when Brady is done so too, will be the Patriots.

Yeah, whenever Brady and Belichick end up leaving, we'll see just how spoiled we are.  The team won't be that good again for a long, long while I imagine.

[kozlodoev]

They need a new number 1 threat.

I don't buy this. Our problems this year haven't been due to guys not getting open, they were due to Brady not making throws he usually makes.

Name a team with a worse WR core than Edelman and Amendola.

That's completely irrelevant. Whatever you may think about how high-profile Edelman, Dobson, and Vereen are (and yes, this was the receiving core this year), they made enough plays this year. The problem is that Brady missed too many open receivers and made too many off-target throws in big moments something that's very un-Brady-like. You may get by during the regular season this way, but it won't win you too many close playoff games.

[GreenFaith1819]

As a fan of another team looking in (Lifelong Redskins fan), count your blessings, Pats fans.

Redskins haven't sniffed contender status in about 20 yrs, lol.

If Brady or Gronk (especially Brady) leaves town, there goes the contention label.

Just gotta keep plugging away at it. As long a Brady remains a Pat, NE will contend, IMO.

[kozlodoev]

I love all of the Welker-lites in the receiving core and think Edelman is ready to be every bit as good as Welker starting next year.

Edelman was every bit as good as Welker this year.

[tyrone biggums]

The Pats have made 3 AFC title games in a row. Makes ZERO sense to blow it up. Then again we do love prospects in Boston. So maybe this fan base needs to go through a few 5-11 seasons to appreciate Brady. The Patriots need a #1 WR and a healthy team. That's really it. Spend money Kraft

[SHAQATTACK]

I'm a life time Dolphins fan , and have not had anything to cheer about in 30 years .   Without Tom Brady ,  life could be bad......the coach can't throw the football.

When my team was good , New England was only eclipsed my the Ants as the worst team in pro Football year in and out .


My dry spell in football is longer than the Celtics disappearance .

I would love to be able to watch football with my team in it again...before I die.

[sofutomygaha]

As a Washington DC native, may I just say that you people are hilarious.

[Fafnir]

Even if Brady has declined, that doesn't mean you have to hope he bounces back.

Instead you need to give him the weapons such that the Patriots have more of a margin for error.

[BUTerrier]

I mean, good Lord. Were you and I watching the same game on Sunday? Granted, the offense wasn't up to the "hang 40+ points on the Colts" standard, but that isn't what killed us. What killed us was the defense being unable to make a Single. Freaking. Stop. Yes, Thomas killed us when Talib went out, but you know why? Because we had our CBs playing closer to the line to compensate for the lack of any real rush defense. Gronk would have definitely helped against the Broncos, but what happened was that we finally got exposed without Mayo and Wilfork (two players who, by the way, have basically never left the lineup before this year.)

Look, we shouldn't have made it as far as the AFC Championship game. I know we've been spoiled with deep playoff runs, but let's be pragmatic here: anything past making the playoffs itself was playing with house money. And, really, while we'd have been disappointed if we lost against the Colts it's not like it would have been surprising with all the injuries. Injuries may be part of the game, but with the KEY injuries we had on the defense it's amazing we got this far. But now we enter next year with Wilfork, Kelly and Mayo back, which means that we have a starting defense (in no particular order) of:
Jones
Wilfork
Kelly/Spikes (depending on where Ninkovich plays)
Ninkovich
Collins
Hightower
Mayo
Talib
McCourty
Dennard
Ryan/Gregory/free agent safety

That's a solid defense. That solves the major problems the Pats faced this year. MAYBE we need another rushing DE or strong safety, but Kelly and Wilfork in the middle will give us a lot of lanes to the QB.

Bottom line: see how the Pats do next year before we start dismantling the organization. We wouldn't get a big return on Brady anyway (you never really get big returns on any trades except draft pick for draft pick), so he's more valuable to keep than to throw away.

[kozlodoev]

MAYBE we need another rushing DE or strong safety, but Kelly and Wilfork in the middle will give us a lot of lanes to the QB.

Adrian Wilson should be coming off IR in 2014.

[CelticG1]

If everyone in the country thinks you have one of the worst receiving cores, well you probably have one of the worst receiving cores.

Our team had the second most drops in the NFL and we werent close to being as pass heavy as other years

[D.o.s.]

If everyone in the country thinks you have one of the worst receiving cores, well you probably have one of the worst receiving cores.

Our team had the second most drops in the NFL and we werent close to being as pass heavy as other years

I think the Pats had one of the worst receiving cores in the league... for a team that made the playoffs and ended up in a championship game. So, uh, on a shortlist of four teams, they're probably at the bottom.

[Cman]

One word: NO.

And I've got news for anyone who thinks otherwise: the Pats will not bring in a big name WR*. They will count on development of Dobson and Thompkins (Boyce, to a lesser extent), as well as a healthy Amendola.

Why?
Answer 1: Simple economics. Big name WR are not easy to come by. They are rare, and hence expensive. There is no way that BB and the Pats are going to commit the ~$12M a year that a Mike Wallace type FA commands. Simply. No. Way. Why not, you ask? Well, look at how well Mike Wallace is working out for the Dolphins....
Answer 2: Rookie development. It takes most rookies a little bit of time to catch on. I'm confident one of Dobson Thompkins shows big improvement next year.

I DO expect the Pats to bring in either FA WR or TE, but not big name. The idea will be to create some competition at the position.

*I wouldn't be surprised if the Pats resign Edelman; I'm not counting him as a "big name WR".