So Without Josh Gordon, Now What?

So now that Josh Gordon is done for … ever, and 2018 has now officially turned into the Nordberg’s Back Luck sequence from The Naked Gun:

… (and what did OJ ever do to deserve that?), we can sit here all day and figure out what went wrong. But I’m going to skip all that and just go by one of my earlier theories. That Alex Guerrero is really an enchantress in disguise and when Belichick turned her away last year he cursed the organization with an evil spell that won’t be broken until he finds humility and embraces True Pliability. It’s as plausible as any explanation I’ve heard.

But that’s looking backward. That’s February-July talk. The kind of thing to be hashed out over cigars and beers and grilled meats with the Thornton brothers all summer. We’ve got more immediate problems. Specifically, where to make up Gordon’s 40 receptions on 68 targets, 720 yards and 18.0 YPR, the 2nd best total in the NFL. And there’s absolutely no time to waste figuring out a solution since we’re 72 hours away from kickoff against the Bills, who are giving up the lowest number of passing yards in the league, just 187.4 per game. By a wide margin, I might add, since the 2nd lowest is Jacksonville at 198.9.

So where is all that production going to come from? Let’s consider the possibilities:

Cordarrelle Patterson

Why not, right? He almost matches Gordon’s size, 6-2, 220 as opposed to Gordon’s 6-4, 225. He’s got a similar skillset in terms of running with the ball in his hands, breaking tackles and making people miss. With enough athletic talent to be drafted in the first round, albeit later than Gordon was. And he’s been underutilized since Gordon was brought in, used a WR screen, Jet Sweep, Smoke route option and even as an emergency primary running back. But he had three catches last week (on three targets) the most for him since a couple of games in September. And they thought enough of him to sub him in for Gordon on the game’s final play, so there’s come confidence level there, correct?

Ruh roh.

Moving right along. …

Phillip Dorsett

It’s been a typically bipolar season for Dorsett. In September he was a key contributor to the offense, and yet had that Week 3 game in Detroit where he was on the field for 94 percent of the snaps but must’ve been wearing an Invisibility Cloak because he was never targeted. Yet in the other three games he had 16 catches on 21 targets for 165 yards and two touchdowns. As Julian Edelman came off suspension Gordon got more acclimated, Dorsett went back to being more of a depth guy. He hasn’t been targeted in the last three games and only played two snaps last week. He’s actually faster than Gordon, but also 5-10 and not exactly a guy who’s going to distinguish himself high-pointing 50/50 balls. But we can at least be sure that even this late in the season, his legs will be fresh.

Chris Hogan

I don’t know … I’m almost beyond asking why Crazy Eyes doesn’t get the ball more. It seems to me like when he does, good things happen. And I like good things when they happen. There was a stretch in the middle of season where he caught 19 balls on 21 targets. But as the season’s progressed, Brady has been treating him like he’s the offense’s Jerry Gergich. Last year I remember thinking that I’ve never seen a receiver be left unaccounted for by a defense so much in my lfie. And the same thing happened last week on the Pats only score. Though as I mentioned earlier today, Gordon drew three deep defenders. So maybe from where Brady is standing, Hogan doesn’t get separation on his own, but just when there are total breakdowns in coverage. Though according to NextGenStats, he averages 4.0 yards of separation per route,

… good for 4th in the league. So he must be doing something right.

Rob Gronkowski

The obvious question is whether the Gronk going forward will be the Gronk who lit up Miami for 107 yards, a touchdown and SEVEN 1st downs or if he’ll be the one that was snapped into Infinity War space dust by Pittsburgh. As negative as I feel about it down in my plums, the Steelers did shoot all their arrows at him and then started throwing rocks. It was effective, but the Pats need to keep him running routes and force teams to use multiple defenders on him. Delayed routes have worked well in the past as well, as they occupy a pass rusher as well as a defender who has to account for him. His numbers might stay closer to his 2-for-21 than his 8-for-107, but if they’re worried about him they’re freeing up somebody.

James White

Quite simply, the stat of the year for the Patriots so far:

With one exception, when they try to get the ball to James White double digit times, they win. When they try to get the ball to him single digit times, they lose. He’s their best offensive player over the course of this year. They need to feed him.

The Running Game.

It’s not like they haven’t been trying to run. Since the bye week their attempts have been 36, 39, 30 and 19, due mostly to the fact they were trailing all game in Pittsburgh. It’s their December M.O. anyway, and they’ve made more of a commitment to it than they have in most years. So when you lose your most athletic outside the numbers wideout, you replace him with a run-blocking tight end like Dwayne Allen and either pound the ball, keep him in to block and free up Gronk or Play Action your nuts off. Or all three.

None of these are ideal options. But that’s why Josh McDaniels is making entry-level head coach money. He didn’t hand Gordon that bong or that bottle, but the reason he’s here and not in Indy is to fix the problem with the tools provided. If I had to choose one I’d like to see more Chris Hogan. But I’ll take any combination of all the above as long as we don’t have to witness another dog’s breakfast like last week. Make it so.