LINK: Reduce the offense in ’12? – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston

Interesting perspective from the always interesting Michael Lombardi via Mike Reiss.

Here’s the thing, I don’t think the Patriots really have a choice. The complexity of the offense was as much a function of Brady’s telepathy with Welker and Branch as anything else. Last year they tried to add a little more explosion to it with Chad Ochocinco, but ultimately it proved the best way to move the ball was by picking defenses apart with the tight ends and the super smart receivers.

But now it’s clear Branch is no longer a major threat despite his intelligence which made it possible for the Pats to get more and more complex with their offense, and seamlessly execute the no huddle.

Now that they will forced to adapt with new wide receivers the offense will again undoubtedly evolve. The Patriots simply will not be able to expect new receivers to get up to Branch’s mental grasp and synergy with Brady.

So expect less no-huddle, but more down-the-field, explosive plays. And with more time needed for Brady to get those throws off the play of the offensive line will become even more important.

The Patriots offense is set to evolve again in 2012 in a similar way to how it’s philosophy shifted most dramatically in 2007 and 2010, which coincided with the arrival and departure of Randy Moss. There is only one Moss and thus we can’t expect a total 2007 throwback, but we can expect something different that NFL defenses don’t immediately know how to defend.

I’m sure the potential threats of Gronkandez, Welker and Lloyd alone are giving defensive coordinators something to think about this off-season.

“I think they have to go back and redefine themselves. They’ve become a little bit like the Miami Dolphins when they had Danny Marino and only [Mark] Clayton and [Mark] Duper could play. The volume of offense became so great that no young player or any experienced player could come in and do it. .. They have to clean up the system.”