Boston Bulldogs (1-9)
How did this happen?
It’s not so hard to figure out: Boston accumulates passing yards at a decent clip, but has the 3rd worst rushing offense in the league; on the other side of the ball, they allow the fewest passing yards in the league, but give up over 150 yards on the ground per game.
The offensive solve is clear: either they need a RB, or they need Tom Brady to become an MVP level performer. Defensively, it’s a little more complex, as improving the run defense without sacrificing their success against the passing game could be rough.
#Bottom Line
Draft Needs. DB, Rush LB, RB, OL.
Week Four Draftee Update: Rob Moore was largely unused, and then began to show himself as a viable alternative, exploding last week with 186 yards receiving. Look for more of him.
#QB
Tom Brady does just enough to not have his job questioned, but completing under half your passes just doesn’t cut it. He has only 6 interceptions (against 14 TDs), so he’s not giving the ball away cheaply, but the completion rate tends to stall drives.
#RB
Curtis Martin has fallen out of favor, managing only 1 carry in each of the last 2 games, and 14 over the last 4. A 3.6 yards per carry average will do that. There may be some hope here: Chris Ivory and Harold Green have done well as the bulk of carries have shifted their way. Bruce Harper continues to seem more suited to blocking and returning kicks than anything else, and Tim Wright seems to have lost the touch that made him dangerous as a receiver out of the backfield in Year I.
#WR & TE
Through 7 games, Don Maynard had just under 500 yards receiving and 4 TDs. He’s been hurt since then, which has been bad for Boston but great for Irving Fryar, who leads the team with 59 catches for 744 yards. Keyshawn Johnson and Jeremy Kerley look competent as possession receivers, although Johnson has a stunning 10 dropped passes on the season, but it was only with Moore’s recent emergence that the passing game looked truly dangerous for the Bulldogs.
Rob Gronkowski remains an elite TE, with 40 catches for 473 yards.
#OL
Up front, only Bruce Armstrong and Nick Mangold have looked decent, which has been a bit of a surprise. John Hannah struggled early in the season, and has missed 7 games through injury. Both Logan Mankins and Kelechi Osemele have been OK, but they are still searching for a solution at T, where Jermon Bushrod has struggled all season.
#DL
Mark Gastineau continues to do his thing, with 57 tackles and 4 sacks, but nobody else on the line is really dominating. Vince Wilfork and Richard Seymour are doing fine, but both Muhammad Wilkerson and Jason Babin could do more. Look for Larry Eisenhauer to see more playing time at DE when he returns from injury.
#LB
Andre Tippett has 3 sacks, which is not good news: not only is it a far cry from his league-leading efforts last year, his are the only sacks from Boston LBs. Nick Buoniconti is a tackling machine, and Mo Lewis is solid enough, but this group has really struggled all season.
#DB
Mike Haynes was playing at a fantastically high level, with 3 picks through 5 games. But he’s hurt, and likely to miss the rest of the year. That leaves the Bulldogs secondary with only Ty Law and Ronnie Lippett with an interception each, and while Darrelle Revis continues to tackle well from the secondary, this group has been picked apart.
Devin McCourty has been solid at S, but has had very little help: Kyle Wilson and Duron Harmon were never meant to see the field this much.
#P & K
Nick Folk lost his job by missing 6 of 8 FG attempts. Errol Mann started well, but has struggled over the past few weeks as his replacement, leaving this a position of concern for Boston.
Ryan Quigley has been solidi at P.
#Returns
Harper is averaging 22 yards on kickoffs and 8 on punts: neither number is big enough to make a difference, and there may be some change coming here.
#Awards
Teams of the Week: Armstrong (1), Buoniconti (2), Fryar (1), Gastineau (1), Gronkowski (1), Maynard (1), Moore (1).