Brandon Lloyd demoted, takes spot behind Julian Edelman
According to Mike Reiss' snap counts he was passed over on the depth chart by Julian Edelman - who filled it very nicely.
Lloyd finished the game with four catches for 45 yards and was largely a non factor. Rotoworld points out that Lloyd was taken out of the majority of the Patriots two-wide receiver sets - a big indictment by the Patriots coaches.
While Lloyd had a strong beginning to the season, when it was often criticized that the Patriots were trying to "force feed" him the ball, his production has tailed off since. He did have a good day against the Rams (2 catches, 2 touchdowns) but as that stat line also suggests, he wasn't overly involved then either.
Still, this might not matter going forward with the injury to Rob Gronkowski. I'd expect the Patriots to emphasize a three wide receiver set even more to play to their strengths. Despite his disappointing season, Lloyd has been able to provide some highlights and has shown flashes of his potential with the team.
I still think Lloyd has been a valuable addition, and that his potential is yet untapped. The problem has seemed to be a lack of chemistry with Brady and also Lloyd having the occasional case of the drops.
Speaking of drops, the worst game of Lloyd's season was probably against the Jets a few weeks ago. I can't think of a better time for him to earn some redemption and prove he deserves more playing time than with the rematch with the Jets this Thanksgiving.
