Back to the Future: Patriots 2007 Prelude for 2009

Randy Moss and Wes Welker once again highlight the receiving corps.  Moss has shown that his talent remains, grabbing 167 passes for 2,501 yards and 34 touchdowns over the past two years.  He’s a true No. 1 receiver that teams must game-plan around and most defenses double-team. 

Welker has picked up 223 receptions for 2,340 yards and 11 TD in his two years with the Patriots.  Along the way, he has established himself as the best slot receiver in the game.

Don’t be surprised to find him catching under 100 passes this season, however, as the offense does more work on the running game.

The Patriots have lost two receivers from 2007: Donte Stallworth, who left after 2007, and Jabar Gaffney, who joined Josh McDaniels in Denver this year. 

The Patriots have stayed true to form, however, signing Joey Galloway in free agency, trading for Greg Lewis, and drafting Julian Edelman.

Joey Galloway is considered a better route runner than Stallworth and has good hands and great speed—when he is healthy, that is.  If healthy, he’ll start opposite Moss.

Lewis has been plagued with criticism throughout his career for route running, work ethic, and dropping passes.  Leaving Philadelphia could be the best thing for his career.

New England doesn’t have high expectations for him, as they merely want him to do his job as the No. 4 WR, be ready to go, and catch the ball when it comes his way.

Julian Edelman is easily the most intriguing rookie on the offense.  A former QB, he’s said to have slipped into the WR role with incredible ease, and he’s shown great promise.

That said, everything we have seen has been without hits and without pads, so we’ll hold off the great praise until we see what he does in full contact.

The tight ends are much improved.  Ben Watson and David Thomas are no longer the consensus 1-2 of the group.  The arrival of newcomers Chris Baker (FA) and Alex Smith (trade) could mean that Thomas misses the cut this season.

Baker and Smith are both good receivers and should help blocking in the running game as well.  Watson will need to show the ability to catch the ball to match his athleticism, or he will be moved to No. 2 or even No. 3.

The running back corps has definitely improved.  The 2007 group consisted of Sammy Morris, Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk, and Kyle Eckel, with Heath Evans as fullback.  In 2008 they lost Eckel but acquired free agent LaMont Jordan and undrafted rookie BenJarvis Green-Ellis. 

Now, Evans and Jordan are gone, and Fred Taylor has come in.  The combination of Taylor-Morris-Maroney-Faulk looks like the best set of backs since the Corey Dillon-Maroney-Faulk group of 2006. 

I fully anticipate the Patriots to utilize the run more prominently in 2009 than they did in 2007.  I expect a regular platooning—assuming health, of course—with Taylor as lead, followed by Morris and Maroney.  Faulk would once again assume the third down or change-of-pace back position.

Still, don’t believe that the Patriots haven’t been effective in their attempts to run the ball recently.  In fact, in the past three seasons, the Patriots have rushed for three of the top-four yardage totals since Belichick took over in 2000. 

This includes the top three rushing TD totals and three of the four highest YPC average.  Not only that, but three of the five most total rushing attempts have come the past three years.

2008 alone brought the second most rushing attempts, along with the most rushing TDs, yards, and ypc average in Belichick’s tenure.  Running the ball has benefited from the passing game quite well.

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