By Tom E.
Curran
CSNNE.com
The New England Patriots ran for 1,921 yards last year. They ran for 19 touchdowns. They averaged 4.1 yards per carry. Signs of a fairly robust rushing attack, no? Yes.
But you have to dig a little deeper and remember that –as a certain HC noted quite accurately in December of last year – “Stats are for losers.” (
Note: Unless they work in my favor…shhh!)
The numbers may look fine, but the running attack as a whole is not healthy. Not when your youngest, most explosive running back – a player on whom you spent a first-round pick – is so unsteady he is only handed the ball once after a nut-crushing fumble in the 15th game of the season, Not when your most reliable back is a balding, 33-year-old who checks in at 5-8 and has lost a few steps. Not when a staple of the season’s plan is to milk a few more games out of a once-great but oft-injured superstar, it’s not healthy. Not when a perennially injured old guy is your best short-yardage option.
So huzzah for the Patriots running game and the yards it generated. But the four horsemen of the New England apocalypse – Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk, Fred Taylor and Sammie Morris – inspire more yawns than fear.
Other than hope desperately for good health among their fleet of running backs, the Patriots did virtually nothing to upgrade the group.
The draft yielded nothing. Ryan Matthews from Fresno might have been a nice option, but the San Diego Chargers felt the same way and flew up the board to draft him. And the wondrous Dexter McCluster was drafted early in the second round by Kansas City, to wipe out another possibility.
So once again, the Patriots may turn to Maroney. Before 2009, the contention was that he wasn’t fully healthy the year before and that he could have a breakout season. Didn’t work out that way. Maroney had a serious case of the dropsies last year with his four fumbles coming against top-tier opponents repeatedly in pivotal moments.
Maroney himself said this offseason that he tried too often to wring great runs from plays where there’s only a few yards available. He says that’s over, that he’ll be better in 2010. We’ll see. There’s some thought that he may not make it out of camp. But that seems a stretch since there’s really nowhere else to turn.
Taylor, meanwhile, still has some tread left on his tires if he can stay healthy. He averaged 4.3 yards per carry but was only available for six games. He’ll be 34 this year so the chances of him finding increased durability seem slim. Faulk – 34 this season as well – just keeps on chugging. But he’s a changeup back at this point.
There are questions about the running game as a whole that go past the backfield depth chart. If left guard Logan Mankins’ contract dispute keeps him away from the team, New England will be down its best offensive lineman. Meanwhile, Matt Light and Stephen Neal are both nearing the end of their careers and consistently battle injury.
The Patriots completely overhauled the tight end position, signing veteran Alge Crumpler and drafting Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. The addition of Crumpler in particular will factor into the rushing attack as his last coach, Jeff Fisher, said that at this point Crumpler is like a third offensive tackle.
If the heat’s going to be removed from Tom Brady’s right arm even a little bit, the Patriots will need to come up with a ground game in 2010 that doesn’t just put up numbers but also wins them games.
Tom E. Curran can be reached at tcurran@comcastsportsnet.com.
Follow Tom on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tomecurran
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