Introduction
The New England Patriots 2008 season has been one of the most hotly discussed topics in newspapers and blogs. Personnel wise, the Patriots have been devastated by injuries to key players.
The Patriots, over the past decade, have been one of the most masterful teams in being able to plug in the next man up and getting great play and production out of backups. This year has been dominated by three key storylines:
- Tom Brady being knocked out for the entire season with a severe knee injury and the development of Matt Cassel. Tom Brady’s injury has clearly been the main storyline for the Patriots this year, and in fact the entire NFL. The Patriots lost one of the all-time great quarterbacks for the entire season and have to rely on a Matt Cassel, who prior to 2008 had not started a game since high school.
- The aging defense. It’s no secret that last year the prolific offense hid weaknesses on defense. Clearly the defense is aging, especially at the linebacker position. This was a hot topic coming into the season and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. The injury to Adalius Thomas and Rodney Harrison further weakened the defense.
- Weak secondary.With Asante Samuel leaving via free agency, the secondary has been significantly depleted. Deltha O’Neal doesn’t seem to be able to cover even pedestrian receivers and Ellis Hobbs is a second tier cornerback at best. With the injury to Rodney Harrison at strong safety, we are left with James Sanders and Brandon Meriweather, neither who have proven to be solid run stoppers.
The one area that has not been discussed as much is the state of New England’s running game and what it means for the team in 2008 and beyond. Just as with other parts of the team, the running game has also been decimated by injuries.
Frankly, looking at the players New England is able to put on the field, a 7-5 record doesn’t look so bad.
New England Patriots Running Backs: Start of Season
At the start of the 2008 season, the one area that most fans were excited about is the corps of running backs New England had entering the season. The Patriots started with five backs on the active roster, all expecting to contribute significantly to the running game during the season.
- Laurence Maroney. Maroney was the Patriots first-round draft pick in 2006. Coming into the season most thought a healthy Maroney would be the primary back, giving the Patriots a dangerous running game to go along with its prolific passing offense. With his size, speed, and moves, the physically gifted Maroney should be a top-tier back in the NFL. Unfortunately, because of injury, Maroney has only showed flashes of what he is capable of. This year, because of another shoulder injury, Maroney has played in only three games and was eventually placed on injured reserve.
- Sammy Morris. Morris has been a career backup in Buffalo, Miami and New England. New England picked Morris up last year via free agency and he filled in nicely for Maroney early this season. This year Morris has played in nine of 12 games but injured his knee in a blowout win against Denver and missed the next three weeks. Morris has proven to be a reliable starting running back for the Patriots but he has not looked that good since coming back from his knee injury. He has rushed for 401 yards this season.
- LaMont Jordan. Jordan appeared to be a solid prospect as a starting running back when he played in a backup role with the New York Jets but his career took a nosedive in Oakland. When the Patriots signed him this year as a free agent, many thought he and Sammy Morris would make a terrific rotation in relief of Maroney. But Jordan has only played in four games because of a quad injury.
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