Do the New England Patriots Need to Overhaul their Running Game?
BenJarvus Green-Ellis was the first Patriots player to eclipse the 1000 yard rushing mark since Corey Dillon did it in 2004. Danny Woodhead filled in admirably for Kevin Faulk as a 3rd down running back, as Faulk was hurt early in the season.
Woodhead averaged 5.6 yards per carry, and defenses had a hard time locating him behind the bodies at the line of scrimmage due to Woodhead’s small stature.
Green-Ellis’s downhill running style and Woodhead’s scat-back abilities created a great complementary running game for the Patriots, as they were the first team to rush for over 75 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers this season.
However, much of the success on the ground came because of Tom Brady’s constant pressure on the opposition’s secondary.
Green-Ellis had ten games where he eclipsed 50 yards rushing, and 9 games where he eclipsed 70 yards. Every single game that Green-Ellis rushed for over 50 yards, Tom Brady’s passer rating was over 100.
There were four games during which Tom Brady’s quarterback rating slipped under 91.0. During those four games, against the New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, San Diego Chargers, and Cleveland Browns, Green-Ellis rushed for 19, 20, 24 and 14 yards, respectively.
Essentially, for Green-Ellis and the Patriot ground attack to have success, Tom Brady needed to have success.
This issue came to the forefront in the playoff loss to the Jets. Rex Ryan consistently dropped eight men into coverage, using just a three man rush to pressure Brady. Not only was Brady sacked twice by a three man rush, but he was unable to find any open receivers (A similar strategy worked in suppressing Peyton Manning, so no Brady hate in that situation).
Ryan stuck with three-four man blitzes, daring the Patriots to run into his defense.
The Patriots were unable to run with much success, and by the time the offense found a rhythm there was not enough time to focus on the running game.
The bottom line is that the Pats needed a player who demanded respect from a defense from the get go, and neither Green-Ellis nor Woodhead have those capabilities.
This offseason, it is likely that Fred Taylor will retire, and it seems doubtful the Patriots will bring back mid-season acquisition Thomas Clayton.
That leaves two roster spots open for running back depth, and if Kevin Faulk is unable to return after tearing his ACL, then the Patriots will surely add depth to the RB position.
That being said, the Patriots offense was balanced this past season because Tom Brady had so much success passing.
For true balance to be gained, the Pats need to either draft or sign a game changing back. I’m not saying the team needs to completely overhaul the position or bring in an Adrian Peterson or Chris Johnson, but they need to add a dynamic playmaker.
This offseason, Cedric Benson, Pierre Thomas (whom the Patriots have demonstrated interest in) and Ronnie Brown are guys who can shoulder the load of being an every down back, while Darren Sproles and Leon Washington could be brought in to spark the kick-return game while adding a big-play threat on offense.
Alternatively, if Mark Ingram or Ryan Williams are available in the later part of the first round of the draft, the Pats could choose one of them, but the first priority needs to be adding a pass rusher.
For the Green-Ellis fans: He’ll still get his touches, but he’ll be more of a short-yardage type back who gets 8 carries/game instead of 14-15. Essentially, he’ll take the roles of Fred Taylor and Sammy Morris.
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