I won't write them off yet for the season but yea looking ahead they are going to have some holes to fill. They just need to find their running game. Their piss poor contingency plans for losing Hogan, Amendola and Gronk have come back to haunt them. They need to lean on Michel and Burkhead to really have any chance to make a run. That is not an indictment on Brady as much as it is a criticism of all of their receivers besides Edelman. They did go into KC last year and beat the ******* man and Fat Bastard.
It didn’t help that their all-world FB (Develin) landed on IR early in the year, C David Andrews missed the season, Gronk retired, and they failed to re-sign Hogan and Amendola. Actually, I think they should’ve re-signed Brandin Cooks two years ago. His straight-line speed really helped others get open. He was far more effective as the right side flanker than Sanu or Dorsett.
With Brady, Edelman, Burkhead, LaCosse, Izzo, Simon, and Winovich, the Pats will still be the most white-friendly team in the AFC playoffs and I’ll be rooting for them. They still have plenty of battle-tested players (black and white) with loads of playoff experience. They've haven’t played in the Wildcard Round since 2009...where they lost big to the Ravens. Still, I wouldn’t want to play them.