Enter Randy Moss, Wes Welker, the first truly modern spread-style offense to succeed wildly in the NFL, and a new way of thinking. In their 18-1 season, the Pats became the first known team in NFL history to run more than 50 percent of their offensive plays from the shotgun. And with Moss destroying deep coverage and Welker flypapering everything Brady threw underneath, there was a new and nearly unstoppable passing game afoot. “I’m not sure that 2007 was the absolute line of delineation, but that was the year they got Moss and Welker in the same season,” Cosell said. “That really changed things, because now, they really had to become a three-receiver offense. Because Welker is a slot player, and Moss obviously was a perimeter player. "When you have Moss, who was in his prime then, Moss dictates coverage. You know that going in, and I’ve had this conversation with Josh McDaniels. He said, ‘The first week of the season against the Jets, they didn’t play Moss as Moss. They just played straight up, and we killed them. After that, everyone clearly started to try and take away Moss, and we know that going into every game.’ Another body was always allocated to Moss, and I’m not sure they have a receiver like that now. We know that Gronkowski and Hernandez are good, and I’m not saying teams aren’t concerned about them, but none of these guys are going to beat you on a 60-yard bomb.”
Tom Brady: Master of the schemes | Shutdown Corner – Yahoo! Sports
This is a great read about the evolution of the Patriots offense over the last decade. I love stuff like this!