Running Backs

Oh, it's time.  It's time for me to talk about what I believe to be one of the most inconsistent and disappointing units on the team.  Let the discussion of the RB's begin.

The Pats use a RB by committee approach.  Is this approach taken because the coaching staff prefers it to be this way?  They'll try to convince you of that, but in order for it to be consistent and successful, your offensive game plan needs to be unpredictable.  Our offensive play calling could've been predicted game in and game out by the teams least observant, bandwagon hoppin', armchair qb's every week.  It's sad, I know, but it's also true.

  Our number one RB on the year was former first rd. pick Laurence Maroney.  Though I believe that wasn't intentional, the injury at the beginning of the season that Fred Taylor sustained to his ankle pretty much forced the issue.  At times, Maroney showed the great running we knew he was capable of, and at other times, he often displayed the running style we all have grown familiar to see from him.  Take the hand off, run into an offensive lineman's back, panic, run east or west, and fall to the ground.  It's upsetting, because Maroney is capable of so much more and, the kid is trying, as evident by the new practice he began of studying the game tape of each of his runs every week with Belichick, but towards the end of the season, a new problem led to his benching.  Turnovers.  Maroney cost the Pats a victory over the Superbowl bound Colts with a fumble at the goal line and the fumbles just continued from there.  Maroney had solid numbers (194 rushes, 757 yds., 3.9 yds. avg. and 9 td's to go along with 14 receptions) but he was too inconsistent.

  The rest of the RB by committee team included Fred Taylor, Sammy Morris, BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Kevin Faulk.  All were solid, and Faulk was his dependable do everything he can to win old self, but no one could really stay healthy or do enough to carry the workload.  Part of the problems of the inconsistency running the ball could be blamed on first yr. signal caller O'brien but, no one really stepped up.  At times the running game looked great, most of the time it didn't and no defense ever had to worry about the ground game, allowing the oppositions defensive playcallers to double up Moss and hope Welker just didn't eat them alive.  This in turn made Brady and the receivers life a lot harder than it should have been.

  What changes need to be made? Well, I'll tell you the answer to that.  First and foremost the team needs to resign Kevin Faulk.  He's Mr. do it all in the clutch time.  Need a reception in the clutch? Faulk can do that.  Need a key block to give Brady that extra second to wind up and let 'er fly?  Faulk is the best we've got.  Bring him back!  Next, we need to cut ties with the hard running but often injured Sammy Morris, and if the coaching staff can't find a way to use Green-Ellis, they need to free up the spot for someone they can.

  Before I post the list of possible FA's and Draftees for the Pats to take a look at, I wanna say another thing. This offense has lost it's identity.  We need to get back to having a power running game, one that isn't predictable, and just punishes defenders.   We had that with Antwoin Smith, and Corey Dillon.  Since losing that power running game, we haven't won a single SB and we won't again, until this offense becomes more balanced.  So do whatever you've got to do BB and Company, but make sure that off season Do's list, includes bringing smash mouth football back to New England.

  Free Agents (In no particular order)


Jason Snelling-Atl  Snelling isn't a take it the distance kind of guy, but he's an extremely hard runner, has experience blocking at FB and is still very young.  He may or may not be the type of guy that can pound the rock 20 times a game, no one quite knows yet, but he could definately fill a role at RB on this ball club.

Pierre Thomas-N.O. Thomas is young and can do it all.  Pound the ball, take it the distance any time he touches it, and is a great receiving threat out of the backfield.  Thomas can be any teams full time back.  One problem though. He's a restricted free agent, and I find it hard to believe that the Saints would be willing to let him go, but if you can some how swing a trade for his services and lock him up, why not go for it?

The pool of available young Free Agents has really been dried up by the NFL and the NFLPA's inability to come to an agreement on a new CBA.  All positions have taken a very big hit, and the 2010 and 2011 draft are going to be more important than ever for every team in the league.

Options to consider at RB for the 2010 NFL Draft:


  C.J. Spiller-Clemson-Projected rd. 1 2010 NFL Draft RB scouting reports
  My Take: OMFG! Yes, I know, I know.  I said N.E. needs to bring back a power running game and at only 195 lbs. Spiller doesn't appear to be a power back in any league, but the guy is a game changer.  A threat everytime he touches the ball.  At RB, WR, PR, you name it, the guy is a threat.  Let him put on 5-10 more pounds and he'll be fine.  The thing with Spiller is that he doesn't avoid contact when it can actually catch up to him.  Look at what Chris Johnson did this year for the Titans.  He made Vince Young look good.
 Spiller is that type of back.  He may not punish opposing defenders with power, but he'll sure as hell have them tired trying to chase him all game long.

 Jonathan Dwyer-G.T.-Projected rd. 2
My Take: Now that my love fest for Spiller has been thrown out there for all to see, let's return back to, well, power backs.  Dwyer is a big guy, and was productive at the college level.  Will that correlate well at the pro level? I don't know.  However, he doesn't shy away from contact, and if given a professional conditioning staff to work with, combined with an NFL coaching staff, he could very easily become a power back for the Pats.  He isn't injury prone, and has shown that he can run between the tackles. Two very important qualities for a back to have in our system.

 Anthony Dixon-Mississippi St.-Projected rd. 2-4 (Performance at combine will raise or drop projection)
My Take:  Dixon is 6'1" 245lbs and runs like a man with a vendetta.  Though he doesn't come from a power house of a school, Dixon shows the skill set needed to be a power back at the next level.  Strong North South runner, not much of a threat out of the backfield, but his bruising running style when combined with the cold N.E. winters, would go a long way at softening the middle of a defense for the Pats passing game.  Dixon could be given 20-25 carries a game without a problem.

  Ryan Matthews-Fresno St.-Projected rd. 2-4
My Take: Matthews is a jr. that has declared for the draft. He has good size (5'11" 220) and solid speed.  Matthews is one of those guys that performs well when given the opportunity and is a solid, well rounded back.  Not an absolute game changer, but he could hit a home run here and there, all the while maintaining a hard running style as a 3 down back.

  Out of all the backs available in the draft, I honestly don't think the Pats even have a chance at Spiller, and hope Matthews or Dixon will be a Patriot at the start of rookie mini camp.


Next up: Wide Receiver's and Tight Ends

Alright!  Let's get things started off with the most important position in football. First up, Quarterback.

Quarterback


Tom Brady- What else needs to be said? We're talking about TFB!  For the sake of the blog though, I will say a few things.  Tom, we missed you last year and, in your first season back from a year long injury, you actually played pretty damn well.  I didn't miss a game this year, my wife and I were forced to ride the highs and lows of your excellent comeback effort.  Extremely rusty out of the gate, you really turned it up mid-season just to slow down again at the end.  A lot of things contributed to those high's and low's.  Let's discuss them.

  Brady is still the best QB in the league, no one can convince me otherwise.  Two of the top three pass defenses this yr. (lucky for us) happened to be in our div.  The NY Jets ranked #1 in pass defense, closely followed by the Buffalo Bills at #2.  Considering those two teams alone represent four games on our schedule, its a testament to Brady's MAD skill that he was able to have one of his best statistical seasons (4,398 yds. 65.7 completion percentage, 28 TD's, 13 INT's).  Coming in at #3 was the Denver Broncos.  Yup, we played them too.  Five games against the top 3 pass defenses in the league.  Here is the complete list if you would like to take a look for yourself. NFL Stats

  Taking all of that into consideration, throw in Brady's obvious challenge catching back up to the mental and physical aspect of the pro game, having a banged up Wes Welker not active the first to games of the yr. then having Mr. Welker out for the playoffs, and you can pretty much see what contributed to the actual problems Brady had out there.

  The once grid iron clutch god seemed to have lost his mojo.  At moments when we would expect Brady to lead the team down the field to win us the game in dramatic fashion , he would instead fail to convert on downs or just throw a pick.  The moments were there, but not enough to carry this team farther into the playoffs and, can you really blame the guy?  The offensive play calling was vanilla, aside from Moss and Welker, Brady had no legitimate receiver to toss the ball to.  Why did we let Gaffney walk again? The running game was statistically solid, but if you watched the games, you know damn well it never scared anyone.

  Brady's in a contract yr. and barring any CBA complications, next yr. he will be a FA.  No way in hell this team lets the man walk, but when will he be extended?  That's a very important story line to watch this offseason.  Many key guys need to be extended, and none of it can realistically be done until the Kraft's know how much they are forking over to Brady.  As we saw this yr. Brady still has many good yrs. left in him but, do we draft a QB this yr. and start grooming him, or wait until a later time and date?   Hoyer proved to not be terrible, which in my opinion proved to be a very positive sign, and who knows?  Maybe the kid develops into something more than a back up over the yrs.  That would be the best case scenario of course.  Where does Standback fit into all of this? He doesn't. He's a luxury player in the mold of a Wildcat type of guy.  Let's hope the only time we continue to see this man behind center is in serious garbage time and involved with some sorta trickery.

Options at QB to consider for the 2010 NFL Draft:


Tim Tebow, Florida-Projected  rd. 1-2 2010 NFL Draft QB scouting reports.
  My Take:  Yes. I went there.  Look, you either love Tim Tebow or you hate him.  I don't care either way, because this is my blog and I love the guy :)  Would I take him in the first rd.?  If it was after pick 20, I wouldn't even hesitate to pull that trigger.  Tebow is a very raw QB prospect, but put him behind Brady for 3-4 yrs. let him learn the ropes of the pro game, and the guy would be a star.  He has incredible intangibles, and the guy is a playmaker, always coming up big in the biggest games.  If it doesn't work out with him at QB, then put him behind Brady and watch him bring a power running game back to New England.

Bill Stull, Pittsburgh-Projected rd. 3-4 
  My Take: Stull has good size, plays smart in a pro-style offense under former NFL Coach Dave Wannstedt.  Stull gave Pitt it's first Ten win season this past yr. since 1981 and led Pitt to rank at #15 in the AP poll.  He had a solid completion percentage this past yr. (67.3) and has experience playing in cold weather.

  There really isn't much in the way of QB's in the draft this yr. for this team to even consider spending a draft pick on.  Do you guys have someone you think I should take a look at? Mention the player and provide a link in the comments section and I'll take a look.

  Next up: Running Backs

Pats current depth chart with Free Agents listed

Here is the Patriots unofficial depth chart, as of today.  Players marked as Free Agents (FA) will have their contracts expire on March 1st of this yr.  The next blog following this post will start with a position by position analysis, including possible targets in Free Agency or the 2010 NFL Draft starting with the QB's.

                                                                    OFFENSE 

Quarterback
Tom Brady
Brian Hoyer
Isaiah Stanback

Running Back
Fred Taylor
Laurence Maroney
Sammy Morris
Kevin Faulk  (FA)
BenJarvus Green-Ellis

Wide Receiver
Randy Moss
Wes Welker
Julian Edelman
Sam Aiken
Brandon Tate
Matthew Slater

Tight End
Chris Baker
Ben Watson (FA)

Offensive Tackle
Matt Light
Nick Kaczur
Sebastian Vollmer
Mark LeVoir

Guard
Logan Mankins (FA)
Stephen Neal (FA)
Rich Ohrnberger
Ryan Wendell

Center
Dan Koppen
Dan Connolly

                                                                   DEFENSE

Defensive End
Ty Warren
Jarvis Green (FA)
Myron Pryor
Mike Wright

Nose Tackle
Vince Wilfork (FA)
Ron Brace

Outside Linebacker
Adalius Thomas
Tully Banta-Cain
Derrick Burgess (FA)
Pierre Woods (FA)
Shawn Crable
Rob Ninkovich

Inside Linebacker
Jerod Mayo
Gary Guyton (ERFA)
Eric Alexander
Tyrone McKenzie

Cornerback
Leigh Bodden (FA)
Darius Butler
Shawn Springs
Jonathan Wilhite
Terrence Wheatley
Kyle Arrington

Safety
Brandon Meriweather
Brandon McGowan
James Sanders
Patrick Chung
Ray Ventrone (RFA)

Kicker
Stephen Gostkowski (FA)

Punter
Chris Hanson

Long Snapper
Jake Ingram

Kick Returner
Matthew Slater
Laurence Maroney
Darius Butler

Punt Returner
Wes Welker
Kevin Faulk
Julian Edelman

Brief Introduction

Hello Everyone.  My name is Jarred.  I have lived in the state of California for the entire 28 yrs. of my life.  My plans for this Blogspot are simple.  I want to use this space to post anything and everything I desire about the New England Patriots.

  I have been a fan of the team since the mid 80's.  Through thick and thin I have supported this Organization, so don't expect any knee jerk or bandwagon behavior from me.  I want some good discussion.  So please feel free to comment or send me an Email with some topic recommendations or leads.

   I'll be posting new blogs several days a week and I will be starting it off with discussion regarding the 2010 NFL Offseason.  Free Agent signings, Free Agent Losses, and of course the 2010 NFL Draft.

  Welcome,