Chemistry Lesson - Special Projects

One aspect of the bye week that I think will really help The Patriots Offense moving forward is that Brady and Brandon Lloyd were able to work on their timing. When asked about their chemistry, Brady responded in his usual politic manner.

“I hope it [chemistry] keeps getting better,” Brady said. “We just keep working at it, so we go out there in practice and we work on things and Coach [Bill Belichick] tells us things that we need to do better. We’re always trying to make those improvements. I don’t think you can ever stop improving. I just think you just have to keep going out there to work at it and see if it can be better each day.”

These guys have been on the verge of "dynamic duo" this season, but at times they have looked static and singular. Brady has misfired on too many passes (especially deep ones), and Lloyd has dropped his fair share. The whole situation is maddening because Lloyd is capable of such amazing work near the sideline that I expect him to catch everything. Still, at least we can all be thankful that there's no Spanglish on the back of his jersey.

In 2007, The Patriots faced The Bills after a bye,
Randy Moss caught 4 TDs in that game.
We'll see how it goes with Lloyd in 2012

It seems like Lloyd and Brady are on the same page conceptually with running the "correct" routes, but there's something missing. That je ne sais quoi is just lacking in high profile moments. Now, I don't want to start speculation that Lloyd is shy in crunch-time, but he has yet to make me a believer that he "has the clutch gene." The best plays that he's made are his sideline toe-tappers, but he's yet to really impress me with a catch in tight coverage. Some of that is a testament to how good of a route-runner he is to get open so often, but where's that indefensible play that Brady can always count on?

 Let's not forget that Moss really turned it on late in the 2007 year (after the bye). Certainly Lloyd is not "the next Moss" or "a deep threat" but I want to see more from Brady and Lloyd. I love to see the sideline/back shoulder catches, but I want to see McDaniels find a way to expand Lloyd's role in the Offense. However, it might not be a matter of Lloyd's role, but rather a simple matter of chemistry. Either way, the bye week should have helped the Brady-Lloyd connection. Without a game to prepare for, McDaniels, Brady, and Lloyd were able to address their own issues.

In a WEEI interview, Brady talks about the benefits of the bye week, "When you don’t have a particular game plan, you can take some time to do some special projects that the coaches did to figure out how we can improve this second half. That’s really where a lot of the time was spent." I wonder what special projects Brady could be talking about...

Here's hoping that Brady and Lloyd take it to a whole new level in the second half. I'm guessing that these "special projects" have a lot to do with figuring out exactly how Brandon Lloyd and Tom Brady can be most effective down the stretch. And, even if McDaniels isn't trying anything new, a couple extra days of practice and reflection can't hurt.