Patriots' Practice Squad: Good Work, If You Can Get It

In how many professions can someone be fired, languish on unemployment for 24 hours, then be rehired in a reserve status, making 100k per year?

Of the over 1,100 players shown the door by their teams on Saturday afternoon, roughly a third of them will find themselves on practice squads throughout the National Football League - ten of them in Foxbourough with the New England Patriots - with the guarantee that their minimum salary will amount to $107K if the player spends the entire year on the scout team.

WR/RB D.J. Foster

Practice squad, scout team, taxi squad, call it what you will - probably dependent on what era you grew up in - but for a football player with dreams of playing on Sundays, being on the ten-man practice squad means that you are but one step away from realizing that dream - even though that step taken would be due to another player's misfortune.

And that step doesn't necessarily take place in Foxborough, as practice squad members are technically restricted free agents, restricted in that if another team comes-a-callin' and wants to poach a player from another team's squad, the Collective Bargaining Agreement requires that the player taken must be on that team's active roster for three weeks.

That happens every so often, with the last time the Patriots engaging in the practice being in 2014, when they poached nose tackle Sealver Siliga from the Seattle Seahawks practice squad, and he remained on the Patriots' roster through 2015 and won a ring when New England beat the Seahawks in Super Bowl 49.

So, it's a hell of an opportunity to ply their trade, and get coached up.  Strength and conditioning is part of the deal as well, as are all the amenities available to the players on the active roster, and they get Sundays off...

Patriots head ball coach and general manager Bill Belichick just had the unpleasant task of handing out pink slips to 37 players, but cheered up a bit when informing nine players (as of press time) that their NFL careers are still alive:

D. J. Foster - The second year running back has three different scenarios in which he would be called up to the big league club, as an injury or some other misfortune to either a running back, a wide receiver or to whomever ends up returning punts would open the door for the multi-talented Arizona State product.

David Jones - The undrafted rookie safety from Richmond has tremendous size (6' 3", 215 lbs), but is a bit fragile, having injured his right forearm multiple times in his last two seasons in college.  He has untapped potential as a fierce-hitting strong safety.

Damarius Travis - another safety with great size (6' 2", 210), the undrafted free agent from Minnesota narrowly missed being named to the active roster as a backup free safety due to his fantastic mixture of speed and range.

Geneo Grissom - Grissom would probably have made the roster as well, were it not for a cutdown day trade with Seattle for the manic and violent Cassius Marsh.  Grissom is in his third season in New England, but was inactive much of the time despite being on the 53.

Cody Hollister - Twin brother of tight end Jaocb Hollister who made the active roster, Cody is a large but not overly speedy receiver who needs work on route running.  The Arkansas alum will get plenty of coaching on the practice squad.

Trevor Bates - A second stint on the squad for the Maine native, an active linebacker from a small school was drafted by the Colts last season and spent time on their squad before being released and ending up in Foxborough.

Ted Karras - the great nephew of former Detroit Lion standout and movie horse-puncher Alex Karras, the Illinios product was on the active roster last season but saw very little action.  He will be the first player elevated if anything happens to a lineman.

James Ferentz - The son of a Belichick friend and an Iowa standout, Ferentz is on his third practice squad in as many years, having been assigned initially by the Houston Texans, then the Denver Broncos and now New England.  This is his last season of eleigibilty.

Darius Kilgo - A sixth-round draft pick of the Broncos last season, this is the 320 pound defensive tackle's second stint on the Patriots' practice squad, and the only reserve defensive lineman on the squad.

Belichick still has one spot to fill on the practice squad, perhaps saving a spot in case he makes any other transaction on the active roster, which is always evolving.  The Patriots also had four players clear waivers with an injury designation and have reverted back to the team's Injured Reserved List:

Defensive tackle Josh Augusta
Wide Receiver Devin Lucien
Defensive tackle Woodrow Hamilton
Cornerback D.J. Killings

The team lost four players to waiver claims on Sunday, including fan favorites in receiver Austin Carr claimed by the Saints and cornerback Kenny Moore, claimed by Colts, and also lost offensive tackle Conor McDermott who was claimed by Buffalo and tight end James O'Shaunnessey, who is now in Jacksonville.

As always, stand by for more information.

The Patriots' 53, Part 1: The "Losing Edelman" Edition

James White should be the biggest beneficiary of Edelman's absence...

In the New England Patriots' concept-based offense, every single player knows exactly where his teammates are supposed to be.

For the linemen, that means that they know what direction the play is going, whether or not a combination block is called for and when they can release downfield to block on screens.  For the backs in the running game, they know what direction the play is going and where to look for the cutback lanes.

That is by no means a comprehensive list, but it illustrates a point that every player has a hand in the success or failure of the unit.  It's not like the Patriots are unique in that regard, as many teams utilize a zone blocking scheme with assigned direction, downfield releases and cutback lanes, but how many of them employ a group of pass catchers who can all play in every spot along the line of scrimmage reserved for the "skill" positions?

How many of them employ tight ends that can do the same, and take their mirrors right up the seam to be the team's deep threat or cross the face of the linebackers and move the chains just as easily? How many of them employ a kennel full of running backs who can split wide , jump into the slot or remain in the backfield as elite blitz barriers?

Only the Patriots, and we're about to see why Belichick builds his team the way he does.

Make no mistake, part of Patriots' head ball coach and defacto general manager Bill Belichick's mantra is depth at every position, to the point of gleeful overindulgence.

Why? A visit back to 2015 provides us with an answer.

The 2015 season was an unmitigated disaster on the medical front for New England, losing left tackle Nate Solder in the fourth game of that season to a torn bicep, which started a string of injury that incrementally sapped the effectiveness of the offense to the point that they entered the AFC Championship game that year with names like Austin Collie running the wrong routes and Steven Jackson falling forward to pick up two yards.

Both were signed out of desperation to fill up a depth chart that looked like a triage roster from a M*A*S*H unit, and turned out to be present in spirit only.

Solder going down against the Cowboys started a slow leak to the sidelines that turned into a tsunami during the team's stretch run as receiver Julian Edelman suffered a Jones fracture in his right foot in week ten against the Giants that shelved him for the remainder of the regular season - then fell Danny Amendola, who was on-and-off  New England's active 46 for the rest of the season...

...before that, running back Dion Lewis was lost for the season with a bum knee, then tight end Rob Gronkowski took a shot to the knee against Denver that left him a shell of his usual dominant self, then running back LeGarrette Blount was lost for the season in week 12 with ligament damage in his hip.

The result is that a team that managed a 10-0 start and looked like they could run the table all the way to the Super Bowl instead went 2-4 down the stretch to lose homefield advantage to the Denver Broncos, where they would eventually lose the conference title game, ironically, on poor coaching decisions and play calling in the final moments of the game.

Edelman returned for the playoffs and Gronk was there as well, but the Broncos had Edelman wrapped up like a baby swaddled in a warm blanket for one very big reason: The Patriots had no running game to counter the passing game.

With Edelman out for an extended period and Amendola and Gronkowski nursing manageable nicks and bruises - and even with losing Lewis for the season - the Patriots' offense suffered very little in points scored per game (dropping from 34 ppg to 31) and in completion percentage (73.2 to 69.2) - and that was due to the team being able to mix in Amendola and Gronkowski in spot duty while James White started find his legs in the passing game.

But where the drop off and eventual demise of the offense occurred was when Blount was lost for the season.

Not just because it was Blount, mind you, but because Blount was their running game, averaging 4.3 yards per carry and on a pace for  1000 yard season when the injury occurred - and once he went down, the Patriots lost their ability to balance their offense.

That had an expected, yet oddly curious effect on a team known more for their passing game than their running game.  Without the threat of a running game, teams were able to load up their pass rush and come after Brady, as well as dedicate their game plans into stopping whatever receivers the Patriots could muster on a weekly basis.

Without a solid running game for the last three weeks of the season and their two playoff games, the Patriots' rushing average went from 90 yards per game and a combined average of four yards per carry to 60 yards per game, that number brought down precipitously by stout defenses in the playoffs which held New England to 2.8 yards per carry...

...and made Brady their top rusher in the post-season with nine carries for 20 yards as he ran for his life to try and keep plays alive - and that was with Edelman and Gronkowski in the lineup.

The lesson learned is that the running game is much tougher to replace than it is to replace a receiver, or even a group of receivers, because without the running game, the team becomes one-dimensional and opposing defense can then effectively neutralize the passing game.

The real kicker was, however, that Brady was somehow able to get his Patriots to within two points of going to the Super Bowl, and had it not been for errant play calling and decision making by the coaching staff, the would have won that game and gone on to meet the Carolina Panthers in the big game, whom the Broncos beat despite having a clearly washed up Peyton Manning at quarterback..

So is it any wonder that this past offseason Belichick loaded up on running backs with multiple tools in their repetoir, a delightful mix of power between the tackles and grace in the pattern?

Quarterbacks:

Tom Brady
Jimmy Garoppolo

Both Brady and Garoppolo looked and sounded somber in their post-game pressers on Friday night when asked about Edelman, but they both know how stacked this offense is - it's just when you lose a guy like Edelman who was, as Brady put it, a "Gladiator", it does take away from some of cohesion on the unit.

That aside, both are unquestioned locks on the roster, while Jacoby Brissett's time may be approaching the end.  It was curious not to see him play even one series in the third preseason game, but Belichick left us to stew in speculation.

Running Backs:

James White
Mike Gillislee

Dion Lewis
Rex Burkhead
D.J. Foster
James Develin

White showed some power in running against the Lions, trending from his running in the Super Bowl and proving that he can be an all-purpose back if called upon to do so - which is pretty much Belichick's mind-set as mentioned in the screed above.  It does the team no good to have backs with set and determined roles in the offense as it makes the offense just as one-dimensional as does not having a running game at all.

Foster makes this list for that very reason, as he is explosive out of the backfield, but also has tons of experience from being  a receiver in college.

Receivers:

Brandin Cooks
Chris Hogan
Malcolm Mitchell
Danny Amendola
Matthew Slater

Weird not seeing Edelman here.

Rumors abound about who is going to replace The Squirrel's production, but the truth of the matter is that this team is loaded down with move-the-chains playmaker types who are money when the chips are downand the lights are the brightest.  Losing Edelman hurts, yes, but just like in 2015, the team can't spend any time grieving, and must move on.

Tight Ends:

Rob Gronkowski
Dwayne Allen
Jacob Hollister

Hollister has been "inactive" for the past two games after posting a monster stat line in the first preseason game - and what exactly that means we can't be sure of until Belichick tells us.

All we can do is speculate.  We already know what Gronkowski brings to the table, and Allen showed his blocking prowess against the Lions and will contribute in the passing game.  But while those two were showing what we already know about them, James O'Shaunnessey took a step back on Friday night, whiffing on downfield blocks that took away from the effectiveness of the screen game.

Offensive Tackles:

Nate Solder
Marcus Cannon
Cam Fleming
Antonio Garcia

The depth behind Solder and Cannon is concerning in that Garcia hasn't played a down in preseason and Fleming is a matador in pass protection without help on his shoulder.  Rookie Conor McDermott loses a numbers game in this list, though this is perhaps the most volatile position on the depth chart and could swing any number of ways.  For now, let's put him on the practice squad.

Interior Offensive Line:

Joe Thuney
Shaq Mason
David Andrews
Ted Karras

Solid, solid group.  Beyond these four, however, is a festival of nothingness.  The Patriots would do well to snag some waiver wire types to plug into the practice squad, just in case of injury. Karras has improved from last season and can fill in at all three interior positions, but that's about it for depth.

The Patriots' 53: "Scavenger" Belichick Putting Together Roster Full Of Intrigue

Bill Belichick is football's version of a vulture.

Or at least it seems that way - mostly due to the success he's had poaching other teams' rosters for players that are being misused or underused and who have performed well in Belichick's rigidly segregated game plans. Segregated in that in his mind, every player has a specific job to do and if they just do that job, they will mesh with the other individuals on the field into one cohesive unit.

How many times have we heard him chide a player for trying to do too much, overlapping into someone else's responsibility? "Look, it's simple, guys." He bellows in one instance caught on camera during a certain championship game, "Just do your job! Don't try to make too much out of it, just do your job!"

Foster scores from 22 yards out

Some people just don't get the concept of leaving your individuality in the trunk of their cars when they go to work - but the ones that do, the ones who have a specific talent and will focus on their jobs and leave the accolades  - or the negativity - for the media to embellish are the ones that are successful, and Belichick is the master at swooping in and bringing them onboard.

It's not just veteran players, either.  A lot of people will look at Belichick's failures on draft day, especially with receivers and cornerbacks, and say that he isn't a great personnelman - and there is something to the lack of success in drafting players in those specialties - and all you really have to do is look at the projected roster below to see the evidence...

...because while a full two-thirds of his roster are players drafted or otherwise signed directly out of college by Belichick, only two of five receivers were drafted by Belichick - one being a college quarterback converted to a receiver - and just three of five corners (with two of them being undrafted free agents), he still manages to field a top offense and a top defense nearly every single season.

Same with running backs, as half of the Patriots runners are home-grown talents - in fact, besides the safety position, the roster is spotted with players brought in from other teams, and while those players rarely gain the big-time spot light, together they make up one championship team.

Does he have the makings of another title contender?

Quarterbacks:

Tom Brady
Jimmy Garoppolo

In my mind, Jacoby Brissett came into Saturday night's game on the bubble, and I'm not sure he did enough to change that.

Both Brady and Garoppolo lost floaters along the sideline that were picked off by Texans' defensive backs (though Brady's was negated because the player landed out of bounds) as they both attempted to spread the field horizontally in order to open up the middle of the field to work with their backs and tight ends, so it goes to figure that they were both pressing the issue...

...something that you wouldn't see either do in the regular season.  If there's one play that sticks out from Patriots' quarterbacks on Saturday night, it was Garoppolo hitting Austin Carr with a laser beam on an out pattern that was reminiscent of Brady's throw to Danny Amendola during the overtime period of the Super Bowl.

Not saying Garoppolo is Brady, just saying that he has the arm to make the toughest throw - as does Brissett, but his poor mechanics get in the way...

Running Backs:

James White
Mike Gillislee

Dion Lewis
Rex Burkhead
James Develin

There is a certain protocol that is followed in preseason games, so when a guy is out there with the ones, plays a few snaps and then relaxes on the bench for the rest of the night, that means he has earned his keep.

James White has earned his keep.

Rex Burkhead was with the two's and he distinguished himself, as did Dion Lewis (who really didn't need to do much), as did D.J. Foster, who makes our list of 53 with an eye-opening performance against some of the Texans' two's and mostly their three's - but the only reason he's on the list in the first place was because of the ambiguity surrounding Mike Gillislee - but since Gillislee has returned to practice, it bodes ill for Foster's chances...

Receivers:

Julian Edelman
Brandin Cooks
Chris Hogan
Malcolm Mitchell
Danny Amendola
Matthew Slater (IR Designation)

Try as they might, the undrafted free agents from this year and the holdovers from last season are not going to make a dent in this receiving corps unless an injury besets them, which is always a possibility.

Of course, last Saturday night's contest with the Texans turned out to be getting the backs involved in the passing game, so only ten total targets found the wide outs, but this coming Friday we can expect to see a far more balanced attack - albeit french vanilla - with the starters playing until at least halftime.  It would behoove fans to pay attention to who is rotated in and out with the one's, because if a bubble-dweller gets a chance with them, it means he has a chance to make the roster.

The only reason there is a chance is because of Matthew Slater's doubtful availability.  If he starts the season on the IR, maybe one of the bubblers get a shot at the 53...

Tight Ends:

Rob Gronkowski
Dwayne Allen
James O'Shaunnessey
Jacob Hollister

...but my guess is the Patriots have enough receivers, and may go heavy on tight ends, which means if Slater hits the IR, there is a possibility that Belichick keeps four of them - and O'Shaunnessey and Hollister have been getting the reps.

Offensive Tackles:

Nate Solder
Marcus Cannon
Cam Fleming
Antonio Garcia
Conor McDermott

Fleming gave the left tackle position the old college try on Saturday night, but showed that he is a far better drive blocker than a pass protector.  He did ok, but also got shoved back into the pocket by a defensive end 40 pounds lighter, and doesn't have the kick-slide to match speed.

Waddle is better on the left, as is Garcia but they are both injured - but the good news is that Solder practiced in full on Tuesday...

McDermott deserves a closer look on Friday, as he was serviceable on the right side, featuring a mean cut block and a decent kick-slide, though he allowed Garoppolo to get murdered on a screen play by not selling the pass play.

Interior Offensive Line:

Joe Thuney
Shaq Mason
David Andrews
Ted Karras

JJ Watt abused Andrews on an inside stunt early in Saturday's game, but he does that to everyone. Together, Andrews, Thuney and Mason comprise an excellent young interior that has gotten better through failure in pass protection, but can always improve - and they will the more they play together.

The depth in camp is atrocious, however, so Karras will win a roster spot simply by process of elimination.  His best spot is at center, but he can fill in at both guard spots.

Defensive Line:

Malcolm Brown
Alan Branch
Trey Flowers
Vincent Valentine
Kony Ealy
Lawrence Guy
Deatrich Wise
Adam Butler

The Patriots played a ton of three man line rotation against the Texans, and it will be interesting to see if that becomes a trend.

Flowers and Wise never saw the field, but that was due to concussion and preservation, respectively, Guy appeared to tweak something in his right leg early on, and Valentine had the trainers come out an check on him, so those are situations worth monitoring - so it was fortunate that Matt Patricia had his charges in a 3-4 to begin with.

With all of the injuries, keep an eye on third-year special teamer Geneo Grissom, who is making a push for a roster spot at defensive end despite being inactive for the game.

Linebackers:
Dont'a Hightower
Kyle Van Noy
Shea McClellin
Derek Rivers (IR - out for the season)
David Harris
Elandon Roberts
Harvey Langi

While the Patriots were working in a 3-4, Undrafted free agent  and resident Swiss Army Knife Harvey Langi took on a role normally reserved for Dont'a Hightower, as sort of a chess piece on the second level, but mostly aligning on the strong side, where injured rookie Derek Rivers had been lining up.

Langi has a puppy-like manic style that may need to be toned down a bit, as he tends to overrun gap responsibilities at times instead of holding his ground and forcing plays to the inside, but that will come with experience in the pro game.  Harris has turned out to be a Godsend for New England in the middle with Roberts constantly getting dinged up, and Van Noy has continued his strong play on the weak side.

Cornerbacks:

Stephon Gilmore
Malcolm Butler
Eric Rowe
Jonathan Jones
Cyrus Jones

The beginning of the turn around for Cyrus Jones has begun, and it's not all that surprising.  Jones tends to get down on himself and lets negative reports in the press exasperate that, but the opposite is also true, where he becomes encouraged by positives, and the way his teammates rallied around him after some decent returns in the kicking game and some solid work in coverage, they are trying to feed him all of the positivity they can muster.

In truth, this is a pattern with Jones that has followed him from High School and college where he started off with some rough outings, got down on himself, grew a huge chip on his shoulder, then broke through the crust to play some amazing football.

Safeties:

Devin McCourty
Patrick Chung
Duron Harmon
Nate Ebner
Brandon King
Damarius Travis

Jordan Richards has been getting a lot of playing time, but it isn't translating to what the Patriots need from their strong safety - mainly, good pursuit angles and steady tackling.  He looks to have bulked up over last season and maybe he can't carry the extra mass as a safety, and it would be intriguing to see his fit as a linebacker, but the time for experimentation for the third-yard player is up.

Chung, on the other hand, looks to be revitalized as a human missile in run support and has shown an awesome instinct as a trail-technique on tight ends - which is wonderful news as undrafted rookie free agent Damarius Travis isn't ready for the role yet, but looks to have the upper hand on all other comers.

Specialists: 

Joe Cardona
Ryan Allen
Stephen Gostkowski

All three are solid, though Cardona had a couple of low snaps to Allen in the punting game, one disrupting Allen's timing and nearly causing a blocked punt by the Texans.

Timing is everything in the kicking game, and angles are everything in covering kicks - and both areas need some work before the regular season starts.

Running Backs Featured For Patriots In Loss To Texans

The New England Patriots running back stable is ridiculously deep.

In fact, it's deeper than anyone thought.

Rex Burkhead shined in his Patriots' debut, hitting the hole hard in his seven carries and displaying a natural catching rhythm that will probably earn him the starting nod when the games start to count, then Dion Lewis and D. J. Foster followed up with impressive performances, but three turnovers by New England signal callers doomed New England to their second preseason loss in as many games...

...dropping a 27-23 decision to the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on Saturday in a contest that did little to clear up a convoluted depth chart at just about every position, and in some cases - particularly at running back - made the story a little more hazy.

Not from poor play, but from solid effort by all five backs that played and a breakout campaign for Foster who could find himself on the opening day roster if projected power back Mike Gillislee's hamstring lands him on the Injured List, and Brandon Bolden put himself solidly on the map with some opportunistic blasts through the middle of the Texans' run defense.

The thing about preseason games is that the game plan is usually simply to ride the waves and take advantage of each circumstance that comes along as a coaching point - heaven knows there were plenty of those in the second exhibition game for both teams - but it seemed that Patriots' head ball coach Bill Belichick's purpose for his offense was to remain as vanilla as possible, and that means mixing the running game with the short passing game.

And that means the spotlight was squarely on his running backs.

First, it seems he wanted to see how Burkhead handled picking up the blitz in live game action, then how fluid Lewis looked a full year removed from surgery to repair a torn ACL - and he got what he needed when Burkhead stoned an aggressive stunt-blitz on linebacker Brian Cushing to allow quarterback Tom Brady a chance to step into a throw, and Lewis displayed a nice combination of power and elusiveness, planting hard and exploding into the crease.

Typically, where the Patriots' backs did most of their heavy damage was through the air, however, combining for 115 yards and two touchdowns on nine receptions, though their 110 yards on the ground shouldn't be overlooked, nor should the fact that the offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels kept feeding them the ball, their 38 combined touches counting for exactly half of the plays run by the Patriots offense on the evening...

...which included just a few snaps for passing back James White, who is firmly entrenched as the Patriots' go-to guy as he played only with the first-team, then enjoyed the rest of the night watching his stable-mates go to work on the league's top-rated defense.

Quarterback Tom Brady saw his first action of the preseason, playing two series and contributing 69 yards on six completions and a touchdown before yielding to backup Jimmy Garoppolo, who played the majority of the game and had an up-and-down performance, throwing for 145 yards and a touchdown, but also suffered a strip sack and floated a throwaway along the sidelines, having it picked off in comical fashion.

Jacoby Brissett finished the game and showed much better decision-making skills than he did in the first preseason game, but still couldn't finish off a comeback for the second week in a row - and, as a matter of fact, other than the performance of the running backs and some solid work on the interior of the offensive line, the Patriots put in a relatively sloppy performance on offense.

Brady also made a poor decision on a throw to the sidelines which was originally ruled as an interception, but overturned on replay.  He recovered from his near-pick to lead the offense to their first touchdown, finding Burkhead wide open over the middle for a 22-yard pitch and catch in which the Nebraska product displayed smooth route running, soft, sure hands and enough speed to split the seam after the catch and sprint into the end zone untouched.

Garoppolo didn't get the chance to atone for his gaffe along the sidelines as he was replaced by Brissett on the next series, but did offer up an explanation.

" I avoided the D-end at first and was just trying to throw it away, but I didn't get enough on it." Garoppolo said after the game, "It was just a bad play."

Garoppolo also tried to take blame for the strip sack that gave the Texans excellent field position and led to a Houston field goal, and while it is his responsibility to protect the football, being blindsided by an unfettered linebacker has it's consequences.

"It's just my fault.  I'm the quarterback."

Garoppolo did have many more bright moments than dim ones, going 15 of 23 for 145 yards and leading the charge to the Patriots' final score, a 25-yard crosser to Foster, who showed speed and toughness, racing through the secondary after taking the short toss from Garoppolo and breaking the plane of the end zone while fighting through a big shot from safety Eddie Pleasant.

Foster may have had the most impressive night of anyone on the offense, carrying the ball six times for 23 yards and catching four balls for 52 yards and the touchdown, albeit against the second and third levels of the Texans' defense - while Bolden, normally a core special teamer, picked up 33 yards on eight stiff-looking carries.

Brissett also had the ball knocked out of his hand from behind just as he was about to fire one of his rockets into the end zone with time ticking down under one minute to play, the momentum from his throwing motion propelling the ball through the end zone for a touchback to end a Patriots comeback bid seven yards short.

Adding intrigue to the Patriots' high-class running back situation is the mystery surrounding free agent addition Mike Gillislee, whose hamstring injury suffered in OTA's has kept him from participating in practices and, obviously, from games, which is likely the reason behind the rest of the backs being focused on in Saturday night's contest...

...one in which Belichick has to be pleased with the performance of his backfield and confident that they can fulfill their role on offense as dual threats as runners and pass catchers, and may have helped him make up his mind on Gillislee's short-term future in New England.

The upside, of course, is that Belichick can safely place Gillislee on the injured-reserved list with a designation to return, meaning that he can activate the power back in the middle of November after he's had time to let the hamstring properly heal, then unleashing him with fresh legs on worn down opponents during the stretch run to the post-season - possibly opening the door for a guy like Foster to land on the roster in the interim.

When you have a running back kennel that features so much talent, you can afford to do such things.

Balance Gives Brissett, Patriots' Offense Reason For Optimism

The New England Patriots have many things going against them as they prepare to entertain the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium on Thursday evening.

After all, they are dealing with injuries to many key contributors, including All-World tight end Rob Gronkowski, scat back Dion Lewis, right tackle Sebastian Vollmer, linebacker Dont'a Hightower and defensive end Rob Ninkovich, causing them to go into games already on the second tier of depth along the offensive line, at middle linebacker and at passing back.

Brissett, McDaniels and Belichick should be able to game plan effecitively

But the major point of concern is at the most important position on offense, where the team is now working on their third layer at quarterback, preparing to start a rookie at the position for the first time since Drew Bledsoe arrived on the scene 23 years ago, against a Texans' defense that hasn't allowed a touchdown in six consecutive quarters and have sacked opposing quarterbacks nine times in two games...

 ...ranked third in the NFL against the pass and third overall in total defense, limiting opposing offenses to an average drive time of less than two minutes.

That is stout in every sense of the word, but the one way to negate that pass rushing advantage for the Texans, and also to give rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett time to find his multitude of pass catching options in the pattern is to achieve balance on offense - which thus far has been just as easily done as said in the first two weeks of the NFL Season.

Unfortunately for the Chicago Bears and the Kansas City Chiefs, they didn't stick with their running games against Houston enough to create that balance and both ended up losing close games despite overwhelming success against the Texans' run defense.

By contrast, the Patriots have the seventh-best rushing game in the league, averaging 134 yards per game and have the fourth-ranked rusher in the league in LeGarrette Blount.  Some will argue that New England and Blount achieved those rankings by running the ball more than most other teams - they are tops in the league with 69 running plays - but when compared to having 69 passing attempts, it is safe to say that New England's offense has been successful because it has achieved balance.

That's right, that seven letter word that was barely mentioned in and around Foxborough last season is front and center this year, pretty much by default as the Patriots' coaching staff seeks to put temporary starting quarterbacks in the best position to succeed - surrounding them with a Murderer's Row of skill position players...

...but the players that benefit most from the balance between the running and passing games are the offensive linemen, who performed so well in the season opener at Arizona and then again last Sunday against the Dolphins that they have been the unsung heroes of the first two weeks of the season.

That would have been hard to imagine given the fact that center David Andrews was the only true regimented starter from last season who suited up for New England in their opener, keeping then-starter Jimmy Garoppolo upright for the most part and giving the running game a fighting chance, especially on the edges where they should look again on Thursday night.

Against the Cardinals top five ranked run defense, the Patriots ran predominantly right behind tight end Martellus Bennett and right tackle Marcus Cannon and averaging four yards per carry, and also took their chances going left for five yards per carry, while the tag team of Calais Campbell, Josh Mauro and Frostee Rucker clogged the middle against Patriots' rookie guards Joe Thuney and Ted Karras...

...the former being replaced by the injured Shaq Mason at right guard when Karras struggled to anchor against Campbell. Mason, broken hand and all, and Karras rotated in and out against the Dolphins - but just as against the Cardinals, the interior linemen could not generate much push in the running game up the gut.

That shouldn't be an issue against Houston, as their Achilles heel is their run defense, which has allowed five yards per carry - third-worst in the league - and when running up the middle and around left end, the numbers are far more dismal for the Texans, as they have given up a whopping eight yards per carry up the gut, by far the worst number in the NFL.

Where the Patriots don't want to run is to the strong side, where the beastly J.J. Watt has his hand in the dirt and pocket-wrecker Whitney Mercilus lined up behind him, both stout against the run and absolutely murder on offensive linemen when rushing the passer - rather, the Patriots should test former teammate Vince Wilfork over center and on the weak side where defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and Will-linebacker John Simon are superior pass rushers, but have difficulty setting the edge.

On the interior of the second level where one would normally find middle linebacker Brian Cushing is depth reserve Max Bullough, who at 6' 3" and 245 pounds is light for the position, meaning that he can't take on the guard or center on the second level to free up second-year Joker Benardrick McKinney to stuff the run, nor can the two switch positions because McKinney isn't nearly the athlete that Cushing or Bullough are, and the results would be pretty much the same as they are now, maybe even worse...

...because the Patriots have the ability to drive linebackers out of the running lanes with pulling tackles and tight ends hitting the gaps before the linebackers have the time to react. For the Patriots to accomplish this they will have to run out of 22 or 12 personnel packages with Martellus Bennett and/or Rob Gronkowski pulling to the weak side to free up left tackle Cam Fleming to go after Bullough.

But what is going to help Brissett and the Patriots' offense the most is the aforementioned balance.

Brissett has become a three-step drop, rythym thrower, whose reliance on the short passing game could prove to be a fatal flaw in the offensive philosophy, as the short game allows the safeties to cheat towards the line of scrimmage, stepping into the passing lanes or plugging the running gaps that Bullough and McKinney can't get to.

To combat this, the balance achieved allows for the play action that will freeze linebackers and safeties alike, and will aid the offensive linemen in setting their anchor in pass protection - but it will also take Gronkowski or Bennett up the seam to eliminate the safety and some intermediate routes on the part of Malcolm Mitchell and Chris Hogan, requiring Brissett to change up on his dropbacks and, hopefully, getting the pass rushers to commit to poor angles.

The one thing that the Patriots don't want to do is to get Brissett in a roving pocket on the boot action, particularly to the right where both Watt and Mercilus are capable of disrupting the moving pocket, and which closes off half of the field, making coverages easier for the Texans' secondary.  The only thing that should be going outside the pocket is the pitch play to Blount.

Against the Dolphins, Blount took pitches from the quarterbacks while left tackle Nate Solder pulls to the outside to lead interference, allowing Blount to get up to full speed before hitting the line of scrimmage, the result being a lot of extra yardage and many frightened defensive backs who are rightfully wary of taking on a 250 pound running back at full speed.

Along those same lines, don't be surprised to see Brissett in the shotgun with either Blount, James White or D.J. Foster flanking him, and from where Brissett can either hand the ball off on a delayed draw, swing the ball out to one of them on the wheel route or in the flat on the jailbreak screen, or just keep them in to pick up the inevitable blitz coming from the second level.

In that formation, it gives Blount seven yards to get up to speed to hit the hole with force, and allows the vision and elusiveness of White and Foster to manifest, and even gives Brissett an opportunity to change the play out of a safe, limited set of options.

Because balance is everything.  Balance makes the defense have to defend the entire field.  Balance causes hesitation in the pass rush.  Balance opens up space at the top of routes for receivers to gain separation and balance helps the offense dictate to the defense rather than just having to take what the defense gives them.

There is enough weapons and plenty enough skill along an improving offensive line for head ball coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to devise a game plan to put Brissett in a position to succeed - but after that, it's all up to Brissett to make the most out of his opportunity.

Mail Call! Addressing Patriots' Fans Questions Heading Into The Preseason Opener

Welcome back, professional football!

Foxborough Free Press enters it's fifth season of covering the New England Patriots, and our readership as grown exponentially each year and is now to the point where Patriots' fans know that they will get honest reporting and honest opinion...

...so much so that we have decided to add a forum to our lineup, a weekly article that takes the best questions from our readers on social media and answers them, in-depth and with all due research to ensure that they receive the best possible information.

Heading into Thursday night's preseason opener against the New Orleans Saints, there are naturally many questions, particularly in regard to rookies and free agent pickups who have yet to perform on the field of battle with their fellow Patriots.

There are also many questions about the state of the offensive line, the status of injured players and, of course, the snap count management between quarterbacks Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo, what with Brady being suspended for the first four games of the regular season and Garoppolo needing as many snaps as he can get with the first-team players.

That said, let's dive right in with this week's questions:


Can Dion Lewis come back and be the same player after his ACL tear? - Wayne (New Hampshire)

Lewis has to feel a bit snake bitten, what with injury impacting his past three seasons - but the good news is that after an ACL tear, most athletes come back even stronger than before.  Modern surgical advances combined with decades of trial-and-error on athletes' knees has brought the procedure to the point that the toughest part about returning to the field is overcoming the anxiety that the knee will buckle again.

Lewis' case can be made by the successful return of Jamal Charles, Darrell Revis and Adrian Peterson in recent years, though none of these players carry the title of "Human joystick", not possessed the video game like elusiveness that belong to Lewis.  I would think that the team will be careful with him right up to the first regular season game, then limit his snaps from that point on, since the offense is absolutely loaded.

To answer the question, yes, I do believe he can come back and be the same player.  I don't think the ACL anxiety affects him as much because he also had to deal with coming back from a broken leg two years ago, so he'll be more familiar with the sensations and more apt to let it all hang out.

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Bill always finds one undrafted rookie who makes the roster.  I am wondering who are the 1-3 guys right now that appear they could be that guy? - Pete (California via Pats Fans Pre-Belichick)

Here's the thing: Belichick blew his undrafted load on the third day of the draft, loading up on players that may not have been drafted otherwise, and signed an enormous number of veteran free agents. So currently there are only eight undrafted free agents on the roster, but most are in positions of great depth, leaving their chances of making the squad very long indeed.

For example, there are three UFA cornerbacks competing with five veteran corners and the team's second round draft pick - that's nine players vying for five spots, at most.  Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan and rookie Cyrus Jones are guaranteed spots, and second year man Justin Coleman is having a fantastic camp.

You see where this is going?  There are two UFA tight ends competing for roster spots that don't even exist.  The only players that have a shot at the final roster - a snowball's chance, but a chance nevertheless - are Tennessee offensive tackle Kyler Kerbyson, who was a second-team All-SEC left tackle as a senior, and Arizona State WR/RB D.J. Foster.

At this point without seeing them perform under game conditions, it's tough to say if any of them have a legit shot, but the math is not in their favor this year.

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What free agents and rookies can we expect to make an impact this year? - Warren (Massachusetts via New England Patriots Nation)

Cornerback Cyrus Jones will make an impact on defense as a second round draft pick, while Ted Karras and/or Joe Thuney will make the biggest splash on offense - because the draft was intentionally a depth draft, no one but Jones and possibly wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell projected to be more than long-range projects.

A name to watch is Kamu Grugier-Hill, a weakisde linebacker prospect from Eastern Illinois that is built like safety Brandon King and plays with a mean streak a mile wide - but as far as immediate impact, there is just too much veteran presence to really hope for much out of the rookie class.

And the reason for this was simple: Belichick simply went off in free agency, loading up with starting quality talent. Tight end Martellus Bennett was the biggest signing, and he will team with Rob Gronkowski to scare the bejesus out of defensive coordinators.  Defensively, tackle Terrance Knighton and hybrid edge setter Shea McClellin will find a niche and rush tackle Markus Kuhn could surprise.

As with everything else heading into the first preseason game, there is much that is unknown about many of the players, but we should know a lot more after the first two contests.

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Brady, as we know, is suspended for the first four games of the season.  How does BB use the quarterbacks?  It's important to get Jimmy G. his reps, especially with the first team.  How much does he play Brady, and do you risk his health playing him with the second string? - Ken (New Jersey via Pats Fans Pre-Belichick)

Is Tom Brady playing in any of the preseason games? - Denise (via New England Patriots' Nation)

Most assuredly, Brady will play, but not tonight.

The issue that is unique to the Patriots' preseason games is that Belichick has to find a way to get both he and Garoppolo snaps with the first team players and playing behind a cohesive offensive line.

What is also unique with the Patriots in the preseason, however, is that they have so many quality players in the skill positions that both quarterbacks will get snaps with all of them at some point - and it's really not going to matter who starts.  Belichick could run a pro set, 11 personnel offense, splitting reps between Gronkowski and Bennett, one of several backs (Gaffney being the man I want to see run) and three wide receivers.

The line will be the only question mark, and that is just because they may not have enough healthy bodies to rotate in and out, and the players who start will most likely play deep into the games.

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Who most likely steps into Rob Ninkovich's role on the defensive line in Week 1? - Jake (Texas via Pats Fans Pre-Belichick)

I think that it's going to take a team effort to fill Nink's shoes.  As we've outlined many times, Ninkovich is essentially the soul of this defense.  When Belichick says do your job to Nink, that means to pressure the quarterback, but to also use his veteran guile and natural intuition to know when to break off his pass rush to disrupt the screen game and to set the hard edge in the running game.

So I can see Shea McClellin filling in on the early downs, with Chris Long playing the situational pass rusher.  Both players have their weaknesses, with Long being the most limited of the two, as he has had difficulty in setting the edge.

It's really too early to make this call, but I'm sure Belichick would love to see Trey Flowers snatch that role away from the veterans.

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What is the word on injuries with Edelman and Gronk? - Lynn (Maine via Pats Fans Pre-Belichick)

Edelman is day to day with some phantom numbness and pin-and-needle sensation related to his foot surgery, while Gronk is full speed ahead.

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Brady and Clipboard Jimmy have a lot of weapons to move the ball, but those weapons are useless without an O-line to give them time to pass or open running lanes. How much of an improvement will we see in the line this year with Dante Scarnecchia back as the line coach? - Scott (Rhode Island)

What have we learned about the offensive line thus far? - William (Massachusetts via New England Patriots Nation)

Well, we've learned that in camp there have been no starters from last season who are working with the first team, with the exception of David Andrews.  Much of that has to do with lingering injuries, but it is also to be remembered that Dante Scarnecchia prefers his interior linemen to be tough, mean and, seemingly, undrafted.

Players like Josh Kline, Shaq Mason, Ted Karras and Andrews are Scar's type of players - dirty street fighters. He's trying to get way from the finesse of the zone blocking scheme and go to a more physical drive or wall blocking scheme, for which he needs tough guys that like to mix it up.  He has that in Sebastian Vollmer at right tackle as well, but what we are going to see on Thursday night is a rag tag group of players that may be considered depth now, but may end up with roster spots.

In the end, we may see something along the lines of what the team had when Mankins, Wendell and Connolly shored up the middle, especially if Mason lives up to his enormous potential.

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We lost Chandler Jones, who has led the team's pass rush the last few years.  We also lost Akiem Hicks who provided a boost down the stretch.  We gained Chris Long and Pot Roast among others. How do you feel that the Patriots will attack the opponent's offense this season? Will they lean on the linebackers more? Will they look to attack more from the inside? - Rick (New Brunswick via Pats Fans Pre-Belichick)

You hit the nail on the head with the last two questions.

The role of the defensive ends in the Patriots' defense has always been to set the hard edge in the running game first - Chandler Jones couldn't do that, but now Belichick has a virtual plethora of players on the edge who can, and the presumptive starters, currently injured Rob Ninkovich and rising star Jaball Sheard, can do it all.

But their jobs will be to funnel everything the opponent throws at them in the running game to the inside, where the bigger bodies await.  There has been speculation that the Patriots are dumping their traditional three-tech defensive tackles in favor of bigger bodied nose tackle types who will both occupy double teams in the Patriots four man front, keeping the guards off of the linebackers.

This is the key to the entire defense.  If the guards are kept off of the linebackers, and the tackles occupy double teams, it allows the linebackers to flow to the ball, in many instances, blowing up the play before it gets a chance to develop.  I seriously doubt you will see a dominating pass rusher with double-digit sack totals, rather, you are apt to see a couple of players hammer out seven or eight sacks and a bunch more between two and six.

In other words, in this defense dominated by the 4-2-5 Big Nickle alignment, the pressure on the quarterback could come from anywhere - and judging from how the alignment performed down the stretch last season, we could see a dominating defense that masks their coverages and intent so as to confuse protection schemes.


Have a question for our staff? Simply go to our Facebook page and pose your query on the pinned post at the top of the page.  We will accommodate as many questions as we can!

Patriots' Backs Have Plenty To Prove Against Saints; Gaffney "Beast Mode" In Waiting?

"Gaffney is an unknown quantity, as he spent all of last season on the Patriots' injured list after being plucked off waivers by Belichick.  Projected to be a third round selection in last season's draft, he fell all the way to Carolina in the sixth round, as questions about his commitment to football and his relative inexperience of being a lead back in college came into play.

Both questions arising from him leaving school after his junior year to play baseball in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system, then returning for his senior year when he flat went off on the Pac-12, rushing for 1700 yards and 21 touchdowns in his only season as a starter.  At 6' 0" and 220 pounds, the duck-footed Gaffney looks a lot like Seattle Seahawks' runner Marshawn Lynch in the open field and at times in college looked just as difficult to bring down." - Foxborough Free Press, June 1, 2015

Tyler Gaffney says he wants to run like former Seattle Seahawks' running back Marshawn Lynch - but truth be known, he already does.

The duck-footed bruiser has a gait that has always resembled the man known universally as "Beast Mode", prefers to finish runs by punishing the tackler and has next-to-no elusiveness.  He is a compass runner - when traveling north and south, he is decisive through the hole and prefers to initiate contact and attempt to break the tackle rather than try to run around the tackle...

...but when traveling east or west - or sideline-to-sideline for the uninitiated - he is a bit of a glider, floating to the corner like a mobile quarterback would, waiting for a receiver to come open, only Gaffney is looking for a seam to plant his foot and burst through.

None of it is fancy, and it isn't intended to be.  Gaffney is a power back, pure and simple.

He won't break off many long runs and he will rarely beat a linebacker or a safety to the corner.  What he will do is gain the stripe by any means possible, be it the first down marker or the goal line, and if given the ball as a workhorse back, he will wear down a defensive front seven.

And that's what you want your running game to do for you.  In the version of the Erhardt-Perkins offense that Patriots' head ball coach Bill Belichick employs, the original mantra of "Pass to score, run to win" is in full effect - throw the ball to gain a lead, then run the ball to demoralize the defense and eat the clock.

The Patriots' passing game is tried and true regardless of signal caller, and that was even before the team added the likes of Martellus Bennett and Chris Hogan and Malcolm Mitchell, and while those players need some reps in the offense to bone up for the season, it is the running game that has the most question marks surrounding it as the Patriots move towards their first preseason game next Thursday night.

There were two main issues that plagued the running back corps last season, and both needed to be addressed in the offseason.  The first being addressing the lack of tangible depth, as New England had no one to carry the load after they lost both scatback Dion Lewis and power back LeGarrette Blount, rendering the offense one-dimensional.

No one needs to tell Patriots' fans how ugly that was, nor how frustrating it was to watch the offensive line being overwhelmed like a earthen levee trying to hold back a tsunami, the lack of a running game allowing Patriots' opponents to load up their pass rush, knowing that Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had next-to-nothing to attack the middle of the defense with.

The second issue was that McDaniels has a bad habit of ignoring the tenets of the offensive philosophy by passing to score, then passing to try and win - as evidenced by the Patriots logging the lowest number of running plays in the history of the franchise.

Some of that had to do with the injuries, but the pace was already set way before Blount went down with three games remaining on the Patriots' schedule - and that can't happen again if New England hopes to ascend to the pinnacle of professional football.

Short of self-monitoring, there is no guarantee that McDaniels will comply with the philosophy, as the aforementioned passing game is destined to be the most lethal in the business - but that is a subject for the regular season, when the games count.  What the coaches will concentrate on in these initial preseason games is putting the running backs through some individual down-and-distance circumstances, to guage their reaction to certain stimuli.

For instance, Gaffney will most likely serve as a workhorse against the Saints, getting plenty of touches right up the gut against New Orleans' less-then-stout interior run defense.  Like a true power back, Gaffney needs some initial carries early in the game to get his feet wet, so to speak, and as is evident from the video, the more carries he gets, the more effective he becomes.



The same goes for Blount, who is a proven hammer and doesn't really need many reps in preseason, and since he is still recovering from the hip injury that ended his 2015 season, he may not get many at all - the same goes for Lewis, who is coming back from an ACL.

But unlike Blount and Gaffney, Lewis doesn't need to build up to effectiveness, as his video game like moves and sudden explosiveness make him an instant asset in the offense and, in fact, may be a better choice than the aforementioned power backs as the team's lead back as he is tough as nails between the tackles and almost impossible to corral if he slips into the second level off the edge.

Lewis is also the best pass catcher of the running back stable, but none of these things are in play for the first preseason game, as Lewis will likely be a spectator as the team wants to careful with him coming off of season-ending injuries in consecutive seasons.

What is in play, however, is a wide open competition for passing back depth, with perhaps just one spot available and three viable candidates.

James White has to be considered the favorite, as he filled in ably for Lewis after the ligament tear, gaining a comfortablity and the trust of Brady down the stretch.  Not as electric as Lewis in the open field - and, really, who is? - White instead relies on a wicked stutter-step and crazy body control, his elusiveness lying in barely conspicuous movements to get a defender leaning the wrong way.

What White hasn't proven is an ability to run between the tackles, so we can expect to see plenty of the Wisconsin product taking the deep handoff and hitting the hole with authority, which is, really, the only thing missing from his game - but he is capable, as he tore up the Big 10 as a complementary back who tore off large chunks of yardage strait up the guy in the Badgers' wall blocking scheme.

Free agent veteran Donald Brown also has a lot to prove, as he bottomed out when he had an opportunity to seize the lead back role in San Diego the past two seasons after five mediocre seasons playing part-timer in Indianapolis. Brown, a former first round selection out of UConn, has had opportunities in each of his seven professional seasons...

...backing up such marginal talent as Joseph Addai, Vick Ballard, and Trent Richardson with the Colts and Branden Oliver and rookie Melvin Gordon in San Diego - but every coup attempt has failed miserably. The primary culprit being that he is a jack of all trades, but a master of none - and his journeyman skills don't translate to sustained success.

Brown will get his touches against the Saints much the same way as White will, with plenty of work between the tackles and, particularly in Brown's case, how he performs in pass protection - as must for Patriots' backs and something that White does well, while Brown struggles.

Joey Iosefa is somewhat of a cult hero in New England, but if he makes this team, it means that either New England has had some serious injuries or Belichick isn't comfortable with any other depth player.  Bad Craziness. Still, Iosefa is a Blount-sized power back with very limited wiggle and zero change of direction ability which may limit him to a blocking back role...

...which belongs to James Develin, another Patriots' back coming off of a season-ending injury - so with Develin most likely being limited in preseason, Iosefa has an opportunity to display his wares and versatility in an attempt to gain a spot on the practice squad, if nothing else.

If there is a wild card in the mix for the final running back spot it is undrafted rookie D.J. Foster.  A gap-skipper, Foster is going to have to show a decisiveness with hole selection in the running game, and prove that he can get a clean release in the passing game without relying on pre-snap motion. Fans of the Arizona product will want to see him work out of the slot and as the trailing man in the bunch formation.

As with every other back on the roster not named Lewis or Blount, this preseason is vital to their continued employment.  It is going to come down to a question of what each would bring to the attack, which player's distinctiveness increases the talent level and gives the offense a better chance to become the juggernaut it is destined to be.

With Gaffney, his burden is two-fold: He has to try to either steal away Brandon Bolden's spot on the roster or try to unseat Blount.  Bolden is a running back in name only, a cover for his role as a special teams' ace.  The team would like to get more out of the position than a couple of meaningless carries, though Bolden was the best power back the Patriots had in the post season, which isn't saying a whole lot...

...and Gaffney has been doing some impressive work as a gunner on punting teams in camp, so his stock is rising. His task is a bit more daunting dealing with Blount, as he gives up thirty pounds and six years experience to the incumbent, but given the way he ran over, around and through Pac-12 opponents as a senior at Stanford, it is a given that he has the tools.

In his first three seasons at Stanford, however, Gaffney was all about baseball.

In high school, the San Diego native ran track and played basketball, football and baseball, opting for the latter two at Stanford, where he also doubled up on his majors of both Sociology and Psychology. On the gridiron, he saw little action his first three seasons while starting every game as an outfielder for the Cardinal baseball team...

...earning a 24th round draft selection from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the process.  With his football career going nowhere, Gaffney signed with the Pirates and left school, playing the 2012 season for the Class-A State College Spikes, who played their home schedule on the campus of Penn State University.

He played well, and constantly received congratulatory texts from his former coaches and teammates on nice plays and big hits, then took in Stanford football games during the baseball offseason, and began to miss the camaraderie he witnessed sitting in the stands with the families of his teammates - then after Stanford won the Rose Bowl over Wisconsin, Gaffney was cornered by defensive end Ben Gardiner.

"I told him that he was going to have a terrific offensive line" Gardiner recanted recently, referring to the 2013 season.  Gaffney took the bait and returned to Palo Alto, taking over as the bell-cow for the Cardinal and averaging 5.2 yards per carry and putting up a 1709 yard and 21 touchdown stat line on 330 carries.

Obviously, that number of touches is proof-positive that Gaffney can carry the load, and do so without putting the ball on the ground.  He gives up his body in pass protection and has decent hands out of the backfield - and given the noise he's making in camp, he may be a functional part of the Patriots' backfield going forward...

...but first, he needs to make it through camp and preseason contests to make the final roster, and he's going to have to show plenty to unseat a veteran, but there's a reason why Belichick plucked him off the waiver wire when the Carolina Panthers tried to sneak him through waivers and onto the IR when he partially tore a meniscus - and also why he kept Gaffney around after he missed all of last season with a bum knee.

To know what those reasons are, one only has to watch his college tape - it's all we have to judge him by to this point, but hopefully he shows a little of the Beast Mode against the Saints that he wants to emulate, because a fast start in the first preseason game can only help his visibility with the coaching staff.

Patriots Stand Pat On Running Backs In Draft, But Good Core Remains

Could the New England Patriots actually go into the 2017 season with, essentially, the same cast of running backs that produced a dismal 1404 rushing yards last season?

That 1404 rushing yards was good - or bad, depending on your dialect - for thirtieth out of thirty-two teams, but if it weren't for injuries, the Patriots' rushing numbers would certainly be a lot higher than what it was - and advanced statistics show that they weren't as bad as the initial numbers would seem to indicate.

Sparked by the video game-like elusiveness of passing back Dion Lewis and the sluggish but powerful style of the brutish LeGarrette Blount as a part-time bell-cow, the Patriots had the makings of a decent rushing game - not top of the league type stuff by any means, but enough to keep balance in the attack and have confidence closing out games.

In fact, through the first five games of the season, Lewis and Blount had amassed 486 yards on the ground, with Lewis contributing another 292 through the air as a live-wire dual threat like the franchise hadn't seen in over a decade. Lewis was held out of a week seven matchup with the Jets and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels subsequently abandoned the running game, but still managed enough offense for a narrow win...

...but after a fantastic game the following week against Miami (5 carries for 19 yards and six catches for 96), Lewis saw his season end the next week against Washington, tearing his ACL.

That was the beginning of the end for the Patriots' offense.

The following week, wide receiver Julian Edelman suffered a broken metatarsal in his left foot, the second hit in as many weeks to the Patriots' passing attack - and thus began a cruel string of injuries that left the "skill" positions smoldering ruins.

With Lewis gone for the season and Edelman on the shelf until the playoffs, receiver Danny Amendola was the next to have a seat, suffering a knee sprain the following week against the Bills, then tight end Rob Gronkowski went down the week after that in Denver - then the injury bug took a week off before returning with a vengeance, taking lead back Blount for the season with a bum hip.

That's five core "skill position" players going down in the space of six weeks, reducing the New England offense to a literal shell of itself.  So it should come as no surprise that the Patriots took a nose-dive, losing four of the final six games, Blount's injury the final straw to an offense that generated only 15 points per game down the stretch after he went down.

Edelman and Gronkowski were back for the playoffs and provided some plays, but with the running game in tatters, McDaniels crew could manage only 45 points in the playoffs as he again abandoned the ground game, this time because there just wasn't anything left to work with but untested depth and a relic free agent who hadn't seen action in nearly a year.

Attempting to run the ball just seven times in a divisional round win over Kansas City and fourteen in a loss to Denver in the AFC Championship game is testament to McDaniels' lack of confidence in both what was left of his running game, as well as his completely overwhelmed offensive line.

In short, the Patriots' offensive woes down the stretch and in the playoffs were not a matter of talent, nor lack thereof, it was simply a matter of one devastating injury after another sapping the explosiveness from the offense, leaving quarterback Tom Brady a handful of unproven depth players who, try as they might, were no match for any defense.

The only way that the Patriots could have survived that onslaught of injuries was for their depth to have performed better than they did overall, though by the time Blount was lost for the season, there wasn't a team in the NFL that was scared of the Patriots' offense, because once any semblance of a running game disappeared, all anyone had to to do was load up the pass rush to come after Brady...

...and even when Gronkowski was back, the opposition doubled him up and left the pass catching depth single covered and concentrated on getting to Brady before he had a chance to make his reads.

Many blamed the offensive line for the subsequent beatings that Brady took, but the fact of the matter is that they were overwhelmed by defenses that knew the Patriots couldn't run the ball with any authority, nor could they field a healthy passing catching corps - it was Brady behind an offensive line trying to hold back a tsunami, and the result was the worst eight game stretch in Belichick's 15 year tenure.

And still, Brady, Belichick and the Patriots came within two points of going to the Super Bowl.

Now, had the injury bug started biting any earlier than it did, New England may not have even made the playoffs - so with a harsh lesson learned, why did the Patriots not select a young bell-cow running back in the 2016 Draft?

Many Patriots' fans are either scratching or shaking their heads over this one, and Belichick's response to being questioned about not drafting a back, "You can't control what you can't control", left many with more questions than they had before.

Did that mean he had a back in mind and he was taken before he could fall to number 60 overall, where the Patriots would be making their first pick, or is he referring to the fact that his first rounder was taken away by the league and he was left without a reasonable opportunity to get the back he wanted, or was he just blowing off the reporter?

Probably, it is a combination of all of the above, but even that doesn't change the fact that Belichick added only passing back Donald Brown to the kennel in free agency - a kennel that still includes Blount and Lewis, and also James White, Brandon Bolden, Tyler Gaffney and Joey Iosefa - then signed only former running back-turned-wide receiver D.J. Foster out of Arizona State as a priority free agent after he went undrafted.

Obviously, Belichick has trust in his current group of greyhounds, and has every reason to - given that his running game ranked second in the NFL in Adjusted Line Yards, which gives a true assessment of the efficiency of a team's running game.

Lead back Blount was ranked 6th out of 50 running backs with one hundred carries or more in success rate, which is descriptive of his consistency as measured by successful running plays, success being determined as to whether he gained 40% of the team's need for a first down on first down, gaining 60% of the team's remaining yards on second down, and 100% of the remaining yards on third down...

...his 52% success rate in these situations making him a better bet to gain the yardage needed than just about any "Elite" back you could think of or name, and the fact that passing back Dion Lewis was also ranked #6 for backs with less than 100 carries speaks to the consistency of the running game, so long as it has the players to field.

As a team, the Patriots ranked second in the entire NFL in total line yards, which identifies the success rate of running plays between losing up to five yards and gaining up to five yards on each play.  The Patriots are a robust 4.18 in this category - second only to the Arizona Cardinals - a large degree of their success based upon the fact that they had the lowest "stuff" percentage in the league, with only 16% of their running plays losing yardage.

These metrics show that had the Patriots featured the running game to an acceptable balance while their backs were healthy, especially with their pass catching corps missing integral pieces, they could have dictated terms to the opposing defenses, forcing them to defend the entire field and keeping the pass rush off of Brady

Needless to say, a few things need to be addressed to ensure that the running game actually complements the passing game, instead of just making token appearances.

First and foremost, the need for a running game has never been more critical, so it is time for Josh McDaniels' Flying Circus to come back a little closer to earth.  With the best and most dangerous tight end combination in the league featuring two behemoths who can run block just as well as they can catch and run, the proper thing to do would be to run a lot of 12 or 22 Personnel as their primary package.

The 12 Personnel package (1 running back, 2 tight ends, 2 wide receivers) should be the predominant package that will facilitate the uptempo game that New England is so good at, because with the overall skill set of the top playmakers, Brady could call a running play off tackle or right up the gut with a tight end pulling for a wham block, and if he sees a mismatch to take advantage of, he can go five wide simply by barking out one word.

The threat of a running game in this package is such that the defense would have to respect it, while making sure that they have the players on the field to ensure coverage in the patterns - same with 22 Personnel (2 backs, 2 tight ends and 1 receiver) as the Patriots have three excellent passing backs that they could rotate in and out, two of whom have had a little success running the ball out of such formations.

In other words, with health on their side, the running game needs to balance out the passing game, and while the meaning of balance to the Patriots is running the ball just enough to offset the passing game and forcing the defense to defend the entire field, they need to establish the run early and keep with it through out the game, not abandon it for fireworks in the second half - all that does is allow the opposing pass rush to load up and overwhelm the line, and we all saw how well that works.

Secondly, a token running game is worse than not having one at all.  If you are throwing 80% of the time out of the 12 or 22, you are wearing out your offensive linemen.

It takes twice as much energy for a 300-plus pound man to back peddle, anchor and then absorb the initial punch of a pass rusher than it does for him to drive forward and deliver the initial punch to the defensive lineman.  With the threat of a running game, the play action is more effective and it allows the linemen to conserve their energy by having an extra split second to anchor themselves and deliver the initial punch once the pass rusher decides the play call is a pass.

The way that McDaniels used the running game last season was a primary reason for the Patriots' lack of success on offense down the stretch, including the absolutely brutal beating Brady took - and while the performance of the running game in the playoffs had more to do with simply not having the players, he really didn't even try to establish one, either.

This has to change.  No amount of new blood infused into the backfield is going to fix the offense when the person calling the shots isn't going to use them, and we've also shown that the players that the Patriots already have are effective enough, if given that opportunity.