After a preseason opener in which the New England Patriots dominated the Jacksonville Jaguars 47-12 without quarterback Tom Brady or any of his top three receivers on the field, head coach Bill Belichick let the starters loose in the second game, with similar results. The Patriots opened up a 28-0 halftime lead against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with the starting offense not showing any signs of rust.
Brady went 11 of 19 for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns before yielding to the backups. Starting receivers Wes Welker caught 5 balls for 56 yards and Chad Ochocinco caught 2 passes including one touchdown.
The Patriots offense is based on precise routes and timing, and it takes time to develop that chemistry. Wes Welker said on Patriots.com, “I think our strengths are route running. I know for Tom it’s such a big thing to have guys that can run good routes. I feel like our receiving corps does a good job with that. We’ll continue to work on it and try and get better with it on a daily basis.”
Brady, Welker and Branch have been together for years now, but Ochocinco is the newcomer who needs time to learn the Patriots system. Brady said, “With Deion [Branch] and Wes [Welker], I’ve played with them now for so long, they know exactly what I’m thinking and why I’m thinking it.”
With Ochocinco, they haven’t had much time to develop the timing that is the hallmark of the Patriots offense.
Brady said, “You have to basically get rid of all the information he had to learn going on his 10th year and learn something new in two weeks. It’s certainly not easy but he’s a hard worker, he wants to do it, he’s very competitive and it’s fun to be out there with him because he wants the ball, he wants to practice and he wants to be out there and do it right because he really wants us to be able to rely on him.”
But ultimately Brady sees Ochocinco as a difference-maker that will help to change some of the things they focus on doing as an offense.
“The identity is going to be different based on the players we have because the skill-set is different,” Brady said. “Chad can do some very unique things as a player. You try and play to the strength of our players.”
The Patriots have followed that formula successfully in the past. When Randy Moss joined the team, they looked to put the ball down the field more, which resulted in a record-breaking year for Brady, Moss, and a 16-0 regular season. As the season develops, it will be interesting to watch how effectively they can exploit Ochocinco’s talents on top of what they’ve come to expect from Welker and Branch.
