How the Patriots Offense Must Play Without Tight End Rob Gronkowski

The New England Patriots took a blow to their offense when Rob Gronkowski went down on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns when he tore his ACL and MCL.

Before Gronkowski’s arrival the Patriots offense was having issues, but when he came back after missing the first 6 games the Patriots were scoring the most points in the NFL, but now he is shut down for the season.  

The Patriots cannot let this get to them, they need to ask other players to step it up, Amendola came up big 

on Sunday catching the game winning pass from Tom Brady to complete the comeback.

I think the Patriots will be okay, they have proved that they can have other players step up and be a big help, for instance Shane Vereen stepped up on Sunday when he caught 12 passes for 153 yards and also had a touchdown on the ground.  He can help contribute on the ground and in the air, he has solid receiving capabilities and is healthy. 

Julian Edelman has been having a good season as well for the Patriots, he has 76 catches for 775 yards and 5 touchdowns, and he has played well in big games as well.  He had two touchdowns in the comeback win against the Broncos and scored on the two touchdowns in the final minutes of the game against the Browns to help the comeback.

The real issue here will be the rookie receivers such as Aaron Dobson, Kenbrell Thompkins and Josh Boyce.  I feel that Thompkins and Dobson have improved this season as it has gone along, we will see how they do down the stretch, I have some good feeling about how they can do.

The Patriots also have a good team of running backs, they are ranked 13^th in the NFL with 1,560 yards and have scored 15 touchdowns on the ground which is ranked 4^th in the league.  The only issue is Stevan Ridley’s fumbles but he could return to his 2012 form because he was sat following his fumbling issues earlier this season.

The Patriots must use their offensive weapons in the best ways they can in order to keep winning games and make a good push to the playoffs.  Judging by how the Patriots have utilized the rookie receivers as well as veterans like Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola they will be okay, and Vereen should continue to help as well.  The run game can continue to grow and if Ridley can hold on to the ball they can run the ball early and often and close out the game with LeGarrette Blount who can run people over.