The New England Patriots almost always have one of the top offenses in the NFL. Over the last 10 seasons during which Tom Brady was healthy (2005-2015, with the exception of 2008), they have had an average ranking of 5.7 in total yards and 3.9 in points scored. They have finished in the top 10 in yards eight of 10 years and the top 10 in scoring all 10 times (with an active streak of six consecutive top-five scoring finishes).
Some of that is due to the brilliance of Brady, some is due to Bill Belichick's scheming mastery, some is due to players like Rob Gronkowski and what is annually one of the NFL's better offensive lines. But just why is the Patriots' passing game in particular so tough to stop? According to wide receiver Danny Amendola, a lot of it has to do with the way they run their routes.
"In our offense, especially at the wideout position, it's all about feeling. It's about trying to find open space, using your eyes," Amendola told ESPN.com. "Other offenses I've played in, West Coast offense, all the routes are run on steps. I kind of relate it to driving a car. If you're out there on the road and you're following all the signs, you're putting your blinker on, it's kind of like the West Coast offense; you follow the route on the page.
"In our offense, it's kind of like if you take away all the street signs on the road and you kind of just drive - you yield and stop at an intersection just by what you feel and what you see with your eyes."
With so many timing-based offenses around the league that are predicated on receivers taking a certain amount of steps before making their cuts, it's got to be difficult for players to go up against a group that does things a little bit different. Add in the Brady and Belichick factors, as well as the fact that the players themselves are, you know, good, and it becomes nearly impossible to throw the Pats off their game on offense.