Patriots Week: Talking running backs with Pats Pulpit
by Brian Galliford on Sep 10, 2009 11:02 AM EDT
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PrintYou know what? Talking about a game every day for a full week gets exhausting. I'll freely admit that after talking about the Buffalo Bills' upcoming Monday Night Football tilt with the New England Patriots for the past week with our friends at Pats Pulpit, I quickly grew tired of the chatter. I'm ready for some football. Then I saw those uniforms above, and the problem was exacerbated. That got the blood pumping.
As we're still over four full days away from that glorious kickoff, however, we'll keep talking about the Pats. MaPatsFan joins us once again this morning, this time to discuss the Patriots' extraordinarily deep stable of able running backs. His observations, and my thoughts on his observations, are after the jump.
Rumblings: The Pats are consistently ranked toward the top of the league in rushing from season to season, but the team has not had what one might consider an "elite" running back since Corey Dillon. Is Laurence Maroney set to turn the corner, or will the Pats once again rely on their depth at the position to keep the offense balanced?
Pulpit: I remember talking about this when we discussed our player rankings earlier in the preseason. I think a lot of it has to do with the different way we Pats fans see our running backs. Yes, the term "backfield by committee" is somewhat overused, but it's very true in our case; your comment about "depth of position" is where I see the Pats working the backfield. We've had some success with that strategy, specifically because of situational backs like Kevin Faulk. So I think the way the backfield is setup is ideal.
I would love to say Laurence Maroney is ready to turn the corner. I would love to say he's ready to emerge as a top back. But I still haven't seen it. At training camp I, as well as a number of others who attended, said he looked sharp and decisive. Unfortunately, in pre-season games he was bouncing off of the offensive line just like he used to. I was depressed after watching it. I was really pulling for him, as were many others. Now, a few pre-season games do not a season make, so I'll give him some regular season reps before banging the final nail in his coffin.
A "happy surprise" this year has been the emergence of BenJarvus Green-Ellis (known as "Law Firm" for obvious reasons). A practice squad guy in 2008, he was promoted to the 53-man roster when the Pats suffered a number of injuries in the backfield. He did a great job then and in the 2009 pre-season, so Hoodie awarded him with a roster spot. Carrying five backs may seem like a lot, but I think it helps us balance out the aerial assault, especially since we don't have that workhorse back that so many other teams have.
You've gotta love how a Pats blogger can talk about the talent at running back and not even mention Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris. If there's any stable of running backs in the league that is capable of sucking out your soul in the late stages of a game with irritating first down after first down, it's this group.
What the unit lacks, however, is a true game-breaker. As useful as Morris, Faulk and Green-Ellis are, they have never been, nor will they never be, the type of back that can single-handedly change a game with one big play. Fred Taylor used to be that back, but at this point, he's merely a rotational player. Maroney is supposed to be that player; as a first-round draft pick, he's been quite disappointing, and injury-prone to boot. With a questionable Maroney - who, by the way, has torched the Bills in the past - this group is merely excellent. If Maroney finally emerges, they might just end up being the best group of runners in the league.
Obviously, Buffalo will have to keep an eye on these players if they want to compete. Yes, it's true that most of their attention needs to be focused on flustering Tom Brady and preventing the big play to Randy Moss and Wes Welker. That much is clear. But if the Bills can't shut down these sneaky backs to get off the field on third down, it's going to be a long night in Foxboro.
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I really don’t see whats so great about the Patriots running backs. Every one of them would be back-ups or situational players on other teams as well. Belicheat could probably just plug and chug any old back in there and still suck out your soul.
Stable of backs vs. a workhorse
I think what you say has some merit. None of NE’s backs are Top 5 standouts nor will they ever be. “Backfield by committee” has been the mantra for a while and it seems to work for us. Although, I wouldn’t mind seeing one of them emerge as a workhorse.
Blogger at SBNation's Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit
Brady likely would never have been anything other than a backup if Bledsoe didn’t get popped. The Patriots coach in a way that their depth play like many other teams’ starters perform.
They have good backs, and right now a MUCH better situation than the Bills do.
Oh, and their throwbacks are great. I think it’s because these throwbacks take me back in time, but the Bills and Pats have the best ones.
Twitter: helping to make anti-social people anti-socially social.
by TheAfghanTwilight on Sep 10, 2009 11:39 AM EDT reply actions
let me start by saying I think MaPatsFan has become my favorite non-Buffalo blogger on sbnation after this segment. He has been impressively fair and for the most part unbiased in his assessments of his team and I think when you get a guy who can offer division rival fans a balanced inside look at another team like that it really helps them understand whats going on in the division. Its rare on sbnation sometimes, so its appreciated.
Second, I think the Pats were smart to build their backfield the way they did. First, they save cap space on a big time back they dont need. Because their passing game is so high flying and their defense can hold onto leads their committee is dangerously effective at wearing out defenses while they play from ahead. There are simply too many fresh legs to run behind that good run blocking o-line that kaisertown eluded to.
Jonathan Stupar played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.
I don’t know that it’s necessarily smart, but it’s what they have to work with and it certainly works. They’re wasting 5 roster spots on something that could be filled with 1 or 2. Again, not that it has ever really mattered. The Pats are a plug-n-play system. Someone goes down, you plug the next guy in, and the system moves along. But for most other teams, you wouldn’t wanna waste depth at other positions because you have to carry five RB’s to do the job of one or two.
So easy Marshawn Lynch can do it.
I agree wasting 5 spots is costly
The only have 1 rookie QB behind Brady, that’s it!
Nobody ever mentions it but their quality depth at WR is also suspect. If Moss goes down, it ain’t the same team anymore.
They are also quite weak in the CB/S area as well, not much quality depth.
Hoodie is cocky and does things his way which so farhas always worked out for him but I seriously doubt that if Brady goes down that Hoyer will be as good as Cassel was for them.
Your ability to control the LOS is directly linked to your ability to win football games!
FEED the BEAST!
Cassel looked HORRIBLE in last year’s preseason. I think he was nearly cut, or there was discussion about it. I can’t comfortably question who the Pats have or what they do with their guys until the Bills best them, and do so on a regular basis.
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by TheAfghanTwilight on Sep 10, 2009 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Hoyer
I seriously doubt that if Brady goes down that Hoyer will be as good as Cassel was for them
I think this is accurate and the main reason, IMO, is Cassel had three years in the system before he had to take the reins. Even though he had a crappy preseason, that knowledge certainly aided him in getting up-to-speed.
Blogger at SBNation's Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit
Broken Boney Maroney. I am scared if he emerges as a good player but until then the Patriots running backs are annoyances that always seem to makes plays when they need to (I’m looking at you Faulk). For once I wish their guys would drop a pass or get tackled short of a first down. :-)
Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Ignoring the grumblings on Rumblings.
Slow and steady wins the race
I agree, that the NE running backs are pretty average from a talent point of view, but the running game is much better than average and perfectly suited for the passing game.
Last year the Patriots ranked 6th in rushing, but had only 15 plays longer than 20 yards. However, they had the lowest percentage of all teams of negative plays, and that really is the point: The run game is not supposed to win games. It’s supposed to get steady chunks of yardage and not put the team in bad situations (second and 12).
(Inspired by this piece on the (small) impact of negative plays on overall running games.)
…, they had the lowest percentage of all teams of negative plays, and that really is the point: The run game is not supposed to win games. It’s supposed to get steady chunks of yardage and not put the team in bad situations (second and 12).
which really illustrates why Barry Sanders didn’t rescue the Lions. He was a master of negative plays as much as he was a monster of 80 yard runs.
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by TheAfghanTwilight on Sep 10, 2009 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions
also Faulk can Catch like a WR
the best part of 5 RB that all can run is you never have to have a tired player in and they all have different strenght so teams better prepare for that
some of it is sweet lemons
Yes, as a Pats fan I can rejoice that a lot of relative “nobodys” among our RB’s have produced pretty well for us. But at the same time, I think if you could get BB to actually bare his soul and answer a question absolutely truthfully (lol good luck with that but anyways), he would probably reveal that the team is terribly disappointed that Maroney hasn’t turned out to be the beast we thought he would be when we drafted him.
No head coach in the league would want to go into a season carrying 5 RB’s on the roster—and that includes Bill Belichick. The fact that we will be doing that is a clear signal that there is something “not right” in our running game, and by carrying all of those guys that means we are thinner than we should be at other positions.
I think a lot of the success our RB’s do have comes more from the threat of the passing game than it does to their individual running skills. Even in classic running downs (think: 3rd & 1 in their own territory), Brady-to-Moss is a threat that has to be respected. Which means the Pats RB’s (and O-Line) are rarely (if ever) facing a truly “stacked” box to run against.
by JohnPaul on Sep 10, 2009 4:34 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
rec'd
Damn fine post. I’ve never rec’d a visitor before. :)
"I call him Scuba Steve. I also call him Stevie Wonder. Pretty soon, I shall call him Scuba Wonder." - B.G.
thanks
Thanks for the rec. :) I enjoy looking at the SBNation blogs for the other teams, it’s always nice to get the perspective on things from the “other side.”
I hope you guys have a good season… just not this Monday night. ;)
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