How LeGarrette Blount Can Power the Patriots to Another Championship

New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount has been forgotten a lot. It's sort of his thing, really, as a cycle of fading then resurging has dotted a career that's never been dull.

He went undrafted due to character and maturity concerns. Then, soon the sizzle of his 1,000-plus-yard rushing season as a rookie with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers became a distant memory. He went from hurdling to plodding and from scoring to watching while tumbling down the depth chart.

The now 30-year-old has been waived twice in seven NFL seasons. The Tennessee Titans didn't hold on to him after signing Blount as an undrafted free agent, and the Pittsburgh Steelers moved on quickly, too.

He was only available for the Steelers because the team Blount will take the field with during Super Bowl LI—the team he scored a league-leading 18 rushing touchdowns for in 2016—let him walk following the 2013 season. The Patriots were prepared to do that again after 2015, but eventually, Blount returned for a base salary of only $760,000, which is about what most NFL players spend on their kitchen utensils.

So there's a reflex to overlook Blount because his career has had a journeyman feel without all the luggage and passport stamps.

And that may continue during Super Bowl week when the chatter volume cranks up and buzz builds around two MVP-candidate quarterbacks. There will be plenty of air time dedicated to one of the league's best wide receivers, too (the Atlanta Falcons' Julio Jones), as well as the regular-season sack leader (the Falcons' Vic Beasley), the deadly efficient offensive lines on both sides and a Patriots team that's playing in its seventh championship game during the Bill Belichick era.

But looking past Blount can have disastrous consequences—especially during the playoffs and especially for a Falcons defense that has given up chunk yardage on the ground.

Blount has an opportunity to be more than a mere complementary option or just a decoy as quarterback Tom Brady chucks his darts. He can be the centerpiece of an ever-changing Patriots offense that seems to feature a different superstar every week.

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Whether Blount emerges in that role depends on if Coach Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels think riding him and their rushing offense is the best chance to exploit a weakness. It's certainly possible, though firing away on a Falcons secondary that's steadily improving but still missing Pro Bowl cornerback Desmond Trufant may be more appealing.

There's a whole lot to like with Blount in this matchup, though, and it begins with how much he appears to relish violent running.

At his best, Blount is a catapulted refrigerator when he hits top speed through a hole. Stopping that forward momentum can feel like trying to reverse an avalanche.

And there's a snowball effect that comes with his bruising style, too, because repeated punishment leads to a weary defense. Including the playoffs, Blount has logged nine games this season with three-plus missed tackles created, according to Pro Football Focus. He had a whopping six back in Week 7 against the Steelers and finished with 127 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Even more impressive, of Blount's career single-season-high 1,161 rushing yards—which ranked eighth in the league in 2016—741 yards came after contact, per PFF. That put Blount in the company of the Chicago Bears' Jordan Howard and the Steelers' Le'Veon Bell.

Running back	Carries	Yards after contact
Ezekiel Elliott	322	938
Jay Ajayi	260	900
Le'Veon Bell	261	786
Jordan Howard	252	752
LeGarrette Blount	299	741

He did that while creating 42 missed tackles, which contributed to the surprising amount of long runs Blount generated. Those sort of plays shouldn't come with such frequency from a 6'0”, 250-pound running back.

The yardage Blount gained on his 15-plus-yard carries accounted for 26.5 percent of his overall rushing production, again per PFF. That percentage is far behind the league leaders, but that total is remarkable nonetheless from a back like Blount who doesn't fit the classic breakaway-runner mold.

He's shifty enough, but he's not particularly elusive or slippery with his horizontal movement. And he's fast enough, but he's also not a burner who can eliminate tackling angles. He's a sledgehammer in a football body and the kind of runner that can cause problems for a talented, though still largely inexperienced, Falcons front seven.

The Falcons have a mostly young and promising defense—one that's still growing with each passing week. Along their front seven, four key players—linebackers Vic Beasley, Deion Jones and De'Vondre Campbell and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett—are in either their first or second season.

They're all dripping with talent and collectively are a key reason why the Falcons' 2016 season isn't an aberration. Atlanta has assembled a defense to support its stacked offense—one that hasn't come close to reaching a performance ceiling yet.

But for now, having a youth-filled defense can still result in inconsistent play as growing pains arise. Which is why up front there's reason to be worried about Blount and his running mate, Dion Lewis. Or delighted if you're on the other sideline.

The Falcons run defense was the football equivalent of vanilla ice cream during the regular season. It certainly wasn't awful, but the unit was also far removed from the top tier. There was some hovering involved while Atlanta allowed an average of 104.5 rushing yards per game (17th) and 15 rushing touchdowns (tied for 18th).

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

The area Blount could exploit is Atlanta's tendency to allow rushing yards in chunks. The Falcons gave up an average of 4.5 yards per carry, which ranked a lowly 25th during the regular season. Legs that keep churning and digging through the point of contact can often tack on those valuable extra yards at the end of runs. That's Blount's specialty and what he'll be asked to do against the Falcons while Lewis handles the cutting and slashing.

Blount has a way of turning into a form of transportation as he finishes a run, carrying multiple defenders with him. That's what makes him such a dangerous threat in and around the red zone. Even seemingly solid contact isn't enough to overcome his uncanny sense of balance. Ultimately, the Falcons should fear that ability most after giving up so many rushing touchdowns.

Blount's raw running power is rightfully where we often focus when watching him, as that's how he brings the pain. But his touchdowns come from bulk combined with balance to avoid going down.

One of the best displays of that skill set was also the most recent. Sure, go ahead and laugh at Blount carrying almost the entire Steelers defense to the goal line during the AFC Championship Game (you should, because it was ridiculous).

But the real source of brilliance is that the play should have been, at most, about a 10-yard gain.

Credit: NFL GamePass

That's Blount after he bounced off an attempted leg tackle by Steelers cornerback William Gay. He was off balance for a split second, but then he quickly regained his center of gravity. That allowed him to keep digging even with his right knee nearly touching the ground.

He surged forward and capitalized on the leverage created by his low pad level. Already at that point in the play, Blount had broken two tackles, and then he busted through several more.

Blount is the spec of silver and blue in the middle of what looks like a Steelers defensive huddle in the freeze frame below. Yet somehow the play still didn't end for another five yards.

Credit: NFL GamePass

Blount is at his best when the end zone is in sight. He greets contact with a warm embrace and has scored seven touchdowns over the Patriots' last seven games.

But although Blount thrives as a short-yardage battering ram, he's still capable of busting loose with a long scamper. He recorded runs of 41, 43 and 44 yards during the 2016 regular season, and there were four games when he finished with 100-plus rushing yards.

Blount can adapt and become whatever the Patriots need him to be during any given game. He can be the short-yardage hero or the constant hammering runner who chips away gradually and then busts loose.

Either way, he'll be a menace for the Falcons and a potential difference-maker in Super Bowl LI.