New England Patriots Running Backs in 2008 and Beyond

New England Patriots Running Backs: 2008 Season

It’s important to point out before talking about the rest of the 2008 season and beyond that the New England Patriots are not a smash mouth running football team. It has become a pass oriented offense that relies on the run to keep defenses honest and pick up first downs in tough short yardage situations.

But every great passing team needs good, productive running backs to be successful. It is rare to have great success on any offense without a good running game. The Patriots did win a Super Bowl with the somewhat pedestrian Antowain Smith at running back in 2001, but he was very reliable and had over 1,000 yards rushing that year.

In 2008, the promise all these running backs presented at the beginning of the season have been dashed. Maroney is on injured reserve and hardly saw the field, while Morris and Jordan have missed significant playing time throughout the season.

The Patriots have had four different starting tailbacks in its 12 games so far this year. Kevin Faulk and Green-Ellis have done an admirable job of filling in but it’s not an ideal situation to constantly shuffle the lineup and have no consistent rotation at running back.

So can the Patriots continue to get by with its current cluster of running backs?

Yes, it can. Despite the injuries and shuffling of the lineup, the Patriots rank ninth overall in rushing this year, with 1,566 yards. For the most part, the Patriots have run the ball reasonably well this year. The concern is the ability to get the tough third-and-short and fourth-and-short runs necessary to keep drives alive.

The Patriots were poor running the ball against the Steelers, but so is everybody else. While the Patriots don’t have a top-flight running back on the roster, barring injury, Morris, Green-Ellis, and Faulk should be able to carry the load effectively the rest of the year.

Sammy Morris would appear to be the strongest back on the roster as a featured runner if his injury is fully healed. He was running the ball well and hard in replace of Maroney earlier in the season before suffering a knee injury against Denver.

Green-Ellis has also performed surprisingly well for an undrafted rookie free agent, but he has seen little playing time the past three weeks, with Faulk getting the bulk of the carries.

If Morris is fully healed, I expect the Patriots would prefer to rotate Morris and Green-Ellis, while keeping Faulk fresh and limit his duties to third down, which is his primary role on the team.

But the past few weeks have seen Faulk on the field more than usual, although in those games the offense was clearly in passing mode which Faulk is more suited for.

New England Patriots Running Backs: 2009 and Beyond

The big concern for Patriots fans is the future. And the biggest question facing the Patriots is: Can Laurence Maroney, once he’s healthy, be the team’s feature back? Here is what I wrote about Laurence Maroney in a blog after he being placed on injured reserve:

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