Could Patriots have best redzone efficiency in 2014?
With the Patriots taking extra reps in the red zone during the OTAs, Tom Brady likely wishes that Rob Gronkowksi was on the field to make his life easier. But repetitions for the young targets now could mean great benefits in during the season.
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ESPN Boston’s Mike Reis explained that they Brady is already developing rapport with offseason addition Bradon LaFell, whom Brady found for a 7-yard, left-corner, arcing touchdown pass.
With the return of Gronkowski and the development of the Patriots “bigger” receivers, in other words not Danny Amendola or Julian Edelman, the Patriots would not be shooting for the moon if they hoped to reach the best efficiency in the NFL
LaFell is one of the tallest wide receivers for the Patriots at 6-foot-2, and he understands his relative height raises the expectations for him in the red zone. “If you’re a big receiver, you have to become ever bigger in the red zone,” he told Mike Reiss after practice. “Hopefully, I can do that here.”
The Patriots will also look to second year players Kenbrell Thompkins (6-foot-1) and Aaron Dobson (6-foot-3) for a little help putting up sixes. The Patriots are generally a very effective team in the red zone, as Tom Brady is such an efficient passer and Belichick benches fumblers.
These repetitions could mean improvements upon last 58.1 percent efficiency, whack ranked eight in the NFL. They also finished their final three games with an red zone efficiency of 61.5 percent, showing steady improvement.