In the aftermath of the Hernandez situation Brady is lacking playmakers

In a matter of weeks Tom Brady has gone from  master and commander of an elite offense, to a general without an army. After tight end Aaron Hernandez was released by the club on Wednesday in the wake of Hernandez’s arrest, Brady is left with a decimated offense. With Rob Gronkowski out for an unknown amount of time with his injury, and with Hernandez off the team, Tom terrific has lost both of his starting tight ends in a tight end heavy offense. To make matters worse, Wes Welker will be catching passes in Denver next season. Who’s left? Brandon Lloyd is still available but the Patriots have not made any indication that they will bring him back. Danny Amendola? To me this was an uncharacteristic signing for New England when they overpaid for an injury prone poor mans Wes Welker. Will Brady make him look good? Sure, will they regret not bringing Welker back? Absolutely. The rookies? While I love Aaron Dobson, he is still an unpolished receiver who would need to be eased into the NFL after playing at Marshall. Don’t get me wrong, he’s physically the best weapon the Patriots have at this point, but he is a very raw player. Josh Boyce could be another rookie that could help, but with a lingering toe injury he is way behind in understanding the Patriots complicated offensive attack. How about tight end? Jake Ballard is a solid receiver at tight end, but lacks the explosiveness that Hernandez and Gronk provided. To make matters worse there are slim pickings on the current free agent market. I can’t see the Patriots taking a chance on Terrell Owens or Braylon Edwards after the Randy Moss and Chad OchoCinco experiments both ended so well in Foxboro. While they could pick up a receiver,  it wouldn’t be much of an improvement over the talent already on the roster. However, I think bringing in a guy like Dallas Clark, Kevin Boss, or Chris Cooley could be low risk high reward signing if the team decided to go in that direction. While they may be old veterans, they are good ball catcher how could thrive in New England’s system. Or, instead of going out to bring in players the Patriots may just adapt their scheme to running the ball more with LeGarrette Blount and Steven Ridley.  Who knows maybe the prodigal son Tim Tebow will become the next ultimate weapon for the Patriots at tight end. Oh I can hear the Tim Tebow debates starting right about now. Whatever the Patriots decide to do, whether its run the ball more, use Tim Tebow as a weapon, or spread the field with additional receivers, it is clear that this team is hurting. This could be there year where another AFC East team finally dethrone the Pats as the division leader. One thing is for certain, it’s going to be a long training camp in New England