Patriots RB Jonas Gray Introduces Himself with Breakout Performance vs. Bears

"My name is Jonas."

Rivers Cuomo's abrasive and pounding vocals on the opening track of Weezer's debut album were the perfect soundtrack to the debut of Jonas Gray as the feature running back for the New England Patriots. 

Gray toted the ball 17 times for 86 yards, a very respectable five-yard clip. Gray received just under 40 percent of the snaps in the game, according to Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com. 

"

Patriots RB snaps in win over Bears (penalties included, but not kneeldowns): Shane Vereen 33, Jonas Gray 29, James White 12.

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 26, 2014"

"The choo-choo train left right on time."

Rather than racking up garbage-time yards in the 53-21 blowout over the Chicago Bears, Gray came out strong out of the gate, racking up 47 yards in the first quarter alone. He set the tone with a 19-yard scamper on the second offensive play of the game for New England

Out of "12" personnel, Gray gets the handoff from Tom Brady and has an easy read on the pulling Sebastian Vollmer's block. Gray cuts outside Vollmer, makes himself skinny through the hole and bursts forward with a load of momentum. He finishes the run falling forward, two Bears desperately grabbing at his legs and jersey.

Gray continued his strong running with positive plays throughout the first quarter.

There is no "Laurence Maroney" to Gray's game. He made one cut, squared his shoulders and picked up as many yards as he could. Knowing that he isn't likely to lose yardage will give the coaching staff confidence in their young back.

Failing to score on the goal line is perhaps the only knock you could have on Gray. On 3rd-and-goal form the 1-yard line, he was held for no gain as the Bears' defensive line was able to anchor.

"The building's not going as he planned."

Gray, who spent the first six weeks of the season on the Patriots' practice squad, is getting a chance due to Stevan Ridley's torn ACL and MCL. Ridley and Gray both complement fellow running back Shane Vereen. Where Vereen is the shifty, slippery, make-you-miss guy, Gray—and Ridley before him—make decisive cuts and run with power and leverage.

Bill Belichick's ability to mitigate injuries to superstars is one of his bailiwicks. He went 11-5 with Tom Brady on the sideline. He won a Super Bowl with Earthwind Moreland at cornerback.

While replacing injured defenders such as Jerod Mayo and Chandler Jones may prove to be more difficult, Gray's emergence has softened the blow of losing Ridley.

"The workers are going home."

Gray couldn't have had such an impressive day without an outstanding performance by the offensive line. Back at full strength with Dan Connolly, Bryan Stork and Ryan Wendell manning the interior, Patriots runners had time to let their blocks develop. Fullback James Develin was instrumental in opening up holes on the second level.

New England was able to accumulate 122 yards on the ground, and the Bears failed to sack Tom Brady on the day. The lunch-pail guys up front might not get a lot of credit in the media, but their improvement hasn't gone unnoticed. Gray—and Brady—should definitely be sending a nice thank-you card their way this Monday.

Stats and figures courtesy of NFL.com. Weezer lyrics courtesy of AZLyrics.com.