Still a Gem, Taylor Will Power New England In '09

After missing the playoffs, there was a flurry of activity in Foxborough following the 2008 season.

Granted, star quarterback Tom Brady missed basically the entire season, but the Patriots clearly had work to do if they wanted to return to the top of the NFL in 2009.

Defensive backs, safeties, wide receivers, defensive linemen—almost every position on the field was either addressed through the draft, a trade, or in free agency.

Some relatively big names came in to the New England Patriots family this past offseason, including receiver Joey Galloway, cornerbacks Leigh Bodden and Shawn Springs, and Derrick Burgess from Oakland.

However, there was one guy that changed addresses over the offseason that will have a bigger impact on the fortunes of the New England Patriots than any of these other names will.

His name is Fred Taylor, and he is the Patriots’ best running back.

Now, this is not to say that Fred Taylor is not a big name. He has an outside shot at the Hall of Fame, is easily the best rusher in Jacksonville’s history, and is simply one of the best all around players that you can find in the NFL.

However, for whatever reason, when Jacksonville elected not to bring him back this season to make room for the explosive Maurice Jones-Drew (which was not necessarily a poor decision), it seemed like only two teams expressed any real interest; the Buffalo Bills and the Patriots.

The courtship did not last long.

It appeared as if he had his heart set on New England from the start as, soon after his visit with Buffalo was over, he signed a 2-year, $5 million contract with the Patriots.

For a player that, going into week 4 of this season, has 11,447 rushing yards, 4.6 yards per rush average, and 64 touchdowns in his career, that’s a pretty reasonable deal.

Not only is Taylor a quality back, but he is also a tremendous individual.

For a player to truly have a lasting impact on an organization and the fan base, he can’t simply play well, although that is a large part of equation. The player needs to have character as well, the kind of character that allows him to be a leader in the locker room and to connect with the fans.

Now, after spending his first 11 pro seasons in Jacksonville, it is unfair to expect Taylor to come in to New England and be a leader in the locker room and to have a strong connection with the fans right away, especially when the Patriots have so many guys that fit that mold already.

However, Taylor has all of those qualities. So, if he were to remain a Patriot long enough, he could possibly grow into that role.

In short, the Patriots are getting the total package with Taylor. He is a productive player who has all of the characteristics that a coach would want in a player, and he comes at a reasonable price as well.

That is hard to beat in today’s NFL.

At 33 years old, it is pretty unreasonable to expect that Taylor will be the feature back. If he were, he would wear down awfully quick, and would be of little use the second half of the season and the playoffs. Plus, New England consistently relies on the running back by committee approach.

However, that does not mean that his contribution cannot be significant.

As of today, New England has four backs on its active roster: Taylor, Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, and Kevin Faulk (Ben-Jarvus Green-Ellis is also on New England’s roster, but he has yet to see the field, so he will be left out of this discussion for now). While each of these backs is certainly talented, they all have flaws, some more apparent than others.

Faulk, who has been a long time Patriot and is a fan favorite in Foxborough, is an excellent offensive option, and has been crucial to New England’s success over the years. However, at this stage in his career, he is best used as a third down back and as an option out of the backfield. He never really was suited for any kind of between the tackles running, and he is certainly not fit to start that kind of role now.

Maroney, who was drafted by Belichick several years ago to be the feature back that the team was looking for, hasn’t really panned out in the way that everybody had hoped. For one, he is incredibly injury prone. Secondly, as we have seen in the past, he tends to dance and move side to side rather than running north and south. It has decreased his effectiveness throughout his career, and has led to him being tagged with the ‘fragile’ label.

Morris is another solid back, one that runs more north and south than Maroney. However, like Maroney, Morris is also prone to the injury bug, and it always seems to crop up and bite him at least once during the course of the season.

That brings us to Taylor, the newest face in the backfield.

He cannot run the ball 21 times per week (like he did in week three against Atlanta) every week, but he can take the ball from Brady 10-12 times per game, and offer the best chance to grind out four or five yards every time he touches the ball.

Taking some of the carries out of the hands of Maroney and Morris a little bit also isn’t the worst thing in the world, as it will give them more time to rest up, hopefully preventing them from succumbing to further injuries.

Given the current state of the New England offense, with Brady still working his way back  from a knee injury and the passing game seeming a bit out of sync at the moment, a consistent, tough running game will be crucial to this offense if the Patriots want to go far.

By adding Taylor to the mix, New England has given itself a chance to produce that type of rushing attack.

He very well may be the best back in the group, and simply by being on the field he can raise the effectiveness of all the other backs around him, as they will all stay fresh and will, hopefully, be able to avoid injuries, allowing them to consistently remain on the field.

With so much potential for success, it is hard not to like Belichick’s signing of Taylor.

However, the proof is in the pudding, so we must ask what has Taylor done for the Patriots so far this season?

Up until their week three showdown with the Falcons, New England had not run the ball much at all, relying on Brady throwing the ball close to 50 times a week to power the offense.

With that in mind, it is a little difficult to fully grasp what Taylor’s true role will be going forward. However, we have been given a sampling of what Taylor can bring to the table.

After struggling in week one against Buffalo, the other team that was looking for Taylor’s services, Taylor was very effective in limited action against the New York Jets defense in week two.

He only rushed for 46 total yards, but it was only on eight attempts (that’s a 5.75 yards per rush average), and he looked effective when he was given the opportunity to run the ball. Had Taylor and his crew been given more of an opportunity to run the ball against the Jets, it is hard to believe that the offense would not have experienced more success than nine-point effort it put out against the Jets.

Taylor’s coming out party came about last weekend, when Atlanta rolled into town. In the first half, Maroney got hurt, thrusting Taylor into the feature back role.

How did he respond?

On 21 rushes, Taylor was able to amass 105 yards (5 yards per rush) and scored a touchdown, his second of the season (his first came against the Bills in week one).

Granted, the Atlanta defense is not exactly all world. They have their issues and were a decent, middle of the road defense coming into their game with the Patriots.

However, it is important to recognize that Taylor carried the offense on his back for a majority of the game last week. Don’t expect him to continue in the feature back role (as he’ll get worn out due to his age, as mentioned earlier), but it simply proves that Taylor still has what it takes to be a highly effective back in this league.

In an ideal situation, Maroney’s injury is not serious, and he and Taylor split carries out of the backfield, with Morris acting as the fullback and Faulk coming in during his usual third down, passing situation type scenario.

That way, Taylor will still get his 10 or so carries, giving him the opportunity to be an important part of the offensive game plan.

When used properly, Taylor is the best back on the Patriots active roster, and he is definitely the best new face on the Patriots this season.

The only way to properly prove this, however, is to look at the other new faces that have come into New England in 2009 and measure their contributions so far, and what they could potentially contribute in the coming weeks as the season progresses.

So far, while there have been some highlights, none of the other new members of the Patriots can quite stand up to the contribution that Taylor has made:

Joey Galloway: He could potentially make this passing game explosive, if he actually has anything left and if he and Brady can ever get on the same page. Unfortunately, neither of these things appears to be happening, as Galloway has looked very uncomfortable, and thus, very unhelpful when on the field. He could turn it around, but it does not look promising.

Chris Baker: The tight end was brought in order to help apply some pressure to incumbent starter Ben Watson. So far, he has looked solid (especially on his touchdown reception at the end of the game against Atlanta), but he has not had a major contribution yet, and, so far, nothing has happened to suggest that Watson is no longer the top tight end.

Leigh Bodden/Shawn Springs: These two cornerbacks were brought in to help shore up the New England secondary, something that the two have done pretty well to date. Other than Taylor, these two have clearly had the most positive impact on the team amongst the new faces.

Tully Banta-Cain: Brought back after a short stint with the San Francisco 49ers, Banta-Cain has proven to be reliable as a pass rusher and as a reserve outside linebacker. He hasn’t had a huge impact, however, and it will be interesting to see if his role expands as the season progresses.

Brandon McGowan: Never heard of him? Well learn his name, because, like Springs and Bodden, McGowan was brought in to help shore up the secondary. Despite his lack of name recognition, McGowan has done an impressive job so far in this young season, and if he continues to improve and develop, could end up being one of the better Belichick finds…ever.

The Rookies: Several rookies, including wideout Julian Edelman, defensive tackle Myron Pryor, and safety Patrick Chung, have all made some nice contributions so far this season (especially Edelman, who has been filling in at wide receiver for the injured Wes Welker, while attempting to change positions from quarterback, his natural position in college). However, none of them have had a major impact—yet. As everybody knows, things can change quickly, and if an injury opens up an opportunity for a rookie and he performs admirably, well, then he could suddenly jump to the top of these rankings.

Granted, it is early in the season, and, based on the small sample size of New England’s offense that we do have, it is difficult to precisely identify what Taylor’s specific role on the offense will be.

However, given the current state of the New England offense and given the kind of player and person that Fred Taylor is, he has an opportunity to become a vital cog not only on the field, but in the locker room as well.

Last week, he proved his worth, essentially carrying the Patriots offense throughout their encouraging 26-10 victory over Atlanta.

If he can fulfill his potential on this team and make the most out of every opportunity given to him by his teammates and the coaching staff, then, by season’s end, Fred Taylor will be the most important and significant addition to the New England Patriots roster in 2009.