Mike Dussault

Yeah, those are good concerns. Gronk should help assuming he’s back, but Connolly/Cannon and Wendell need to have good games, because the inside of the Jets line is tough. Most likely I’d expect the Pats to spread them out a little more and not allow the Jets to crowd the box and disguise rushers.

I do expect the Jets’ offense to test the inside of our line and I think you’ll see plenty of Brandon Spikes who was not himself in the first matchup, likely due to sickness.

The strange thing is that while the injuries to the defensive line might tempt teams to run on them, the injury to Mayo means the Pats will likely have better run-stopping linebackers in. 

So expect the Jets to test both out and see what they have success with. Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich need to have big games, not letting Geno Smith out of the pocket, but also finishing with sacks when they get the chance.

It’s huge in every aspect of offensive football. 

On the ground, you get back your best blocking tight end, so that improves the running game. He also could force defenses into more nickel packages which again, improves the running game.

In the passing game, you get back the best third-down and red zone threat in the NFL. Two areas the Pats have struggled most on offense this season. And not only can Gronk do damage when he’s catching the ball, just having him on the field will affect the coverage the Pats see. This will open things up a little more for the outside guys like Dobson and Thompkins.

Assuming he’s the same old Gronk (though I’m sure he’ll be a little rusty), you can’t understate how much of an impact he can and will have because he’s so good and so involved with every aspect of the offense.

Ssshhh, you’re starting to sound like me. But as I said all offseason, there were bound to be bumps in the road early in the season, and that was before we started losing impact players almost every week to injury. It’s actually pretty amazing that the Pats have only lost one game to this point.

Look, I still don’t know how good Thompkins and Dobson can be, but both are showing progress and should only get better. And yes, the injury to Amendola only forced the Pats to give the rookies even more time.

Now, with Gronk coming back, it looks like the hardest part of the new offense is now behind us. Once Vereen returns it should get even better.

And this is not even mentioning the Pats’ defense. Like you said, this team is well-set on both sides of the ball for the future. Replacing Brady down the road will be a major deal, but whoever is the next QB should have a solid veteran team around him with a lot of talent.

Any way you cut it, the Pats are really set up to be good for the near future.

Oh Felger and Mazz. Look, the only things I really listen to are BB and TB’s interviews each week, and even lately I’ve stopped listening to those due to D&C and BB no longer giving anything of interest to Salk and Holley unless he’s calling them out for asking dumb questions.

All the other stuff out there is just by design meant to get a reaction out of people. If I had to talk about the Patriots every day for three hours I’m sure even I would say some pretty stupid stuff sometimes, I probably do already.

If you’re looking for real analysis watch NFLN’s Playbook, or NBC Sports’ Turning Point, or you can even listen to the podcast that Erik Frenz and I do, or the 4th and 2 Podcast over at PatsFans.com.

I think it’s safe to say that blogger podcasts might just be the best thing around if you want to hear real football analysis, without blatant attempts to force a reaction or have a “HOT SPORTSZ TAKE”.

In regards to Gronk and the black jersey, it’s not really that hard for me to believe he was the practice player of the week given how well the Pats shut down Jimmy Graham. It’s certainly not as interesting or fun to talk about as what Felger and Mazz made up, but the truth rarely is.