Is the Patriots Offense to complex?

Offensive players who are dumber than a box of rocks?

More like the latter. The Patriots employ a route tree:
If the defense shows A (e.g. pressure on the line), run route 1 (e.g. parallel route).
If the defense shows B (e.g. outside coverage), run route 2 (e.g. inside slant).
If the defense shows C (e.g. inside coverage), run route 3 (e.g. sideline route).

The routes depend on the play called, the receiver position X, Y, Z, and defensive coverage.
Brady has to see what the receiver sees in order for him to know what the route is going to be.
If you change receiver position (flanker to slot), your route tree changes.

What makes it difficult for Edelman and Stanback is that they never learned route running because they were never receivers. It’s difficult for Aiken because he has to learn all of that on top of his special teams (every formation) work. It’s difficult for Galloway, because he never had to learn more than one receiver position.

By comparison to those guys, Gaffney is a Rhode’s Scholar.

He was a college QB, so that ought to mean he’s a little brighter than the average WR coming out of college. Maybe that was the difference? Brady himself said that Edelman had a knack for knowing where he was meant to be, because he could think of it from a QB’s point of view. Galloway couldn’t – his explanation was “I didn’t think…” Correct, Mr Galloway.

If you are a new employee and your manager is experienced in his position to teach you, then you will pick up the system faster than if you were a new employee with a new manager who is also learning on the job.

McDaniel’s 2007 scheme, even if it was similar on the books to O’Brien’s 2009 scheme, was worked in quite a different way. The 2009 team underutilised the play-action pass, partly because they tended to abandon the run in the second half. For whatever reason, they loved the idea of throwing bombs to Randy; perhaps it’s a 2007 hangover that they want 50 yard TDs in every game. But what they didn’t do was use the play-action to get them – play-action can freeze the D and give an extra second or two of pass-blocking AND time for Randy to get downfield. Instead they were going five wide and trying to throw it deep on obvious passing downs – a far lower success rate.

Why the change? New co-ordinator play-calling things, even if he’s working with the same playbook.

I don’t think they’d have a screen-pass as an audible for Brady to adjust into, so if they weren’t doing it, presumably it’s O’Brien’s fault for not calling them, rather than Brady’s for not audibling into screens.

After seeing the Pro Bowl today and hearing just how much Ray Lewis contributes at MLB in playcalling, I have a whole new respect for the guy as a footballer. He was calling out their plays before they were, and most of the time he was right. He wasn’t so much reading the O formation as pre-guessing the O Co-ordinator. It was quite a sight, and I kinda wished they used the helmet-mic more often, because it was decidedly interesting.

charlie weis offense never fails. enough w. the shotgun snaps. i want a double tight set, ace formation w. 3 wr, 1 te. PA is much better under center than it is under the gun. teams know how to beat this spread formation installed by McD

A little more competition like: “Hey, Adalius! I guess they’re running to your side, ‘cause they know I don’t let anybody through here!”

With Vrabel gone, that voice was silent, and so was Adalius.