LeGarrette Blount Will Be Key for Patriots to Win Super Bowl
LeGarrette Blount took the road less travelled to Super Bowl XLIX.
Blount's journey began back in Week 11. He wasn't even on the New England Patriots roster at that point. Instead, he was standing on the sideline for the Pittsburgh Steelers during a Monday night matchup with the Tennessee Titans.
In the fourth quarter, the Steelers were attempting to run out the clock while playing with a lead. Blount, the big back, whom the Steelers had signed away from the Patriots in free agency to complement LeVeon Bell, departed for the locker room early because the Steelers coaching staff wouldn't insert him into the game.
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Predictably, the running back was released on the following day.
The veteran wasn't a free agent for long. Bill Belichick had lost Stevan Ridley to a torn ACL earlier in the season, so he had an immediate interest in bringing Blount back to New England. Even though Jonas Gray had just enjoyed a breakout performance with over 200 yards against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 11, Blount would be the primary ball-carrier during his debut.
It's possible that Blount only got that opportunity because Gray was late for a meeting during the week leading up to the game, but it was likely an inevitability either way.
Blount is simply more talented than Gray as a runner. He isn't a viable receiving option, but his vision, power and well-rounded athleticism allow him to be a very effective bell cow. After returning to the Patriots, Blount accounted for 281 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 60 attempts.
That's a 4.7-yard per-carry average.
When the playoffs began, Blount was an afterthought because the Patriots went to a pass-heavy offense against the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round. Yet, when the matchup suited in the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts, Blount carried the ball 30 times for 148 yards and three touchdowns.
That is the kind of display that Blount is capable of when he is given enough touches. Against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, he should touch the ball often unless the game script flips in favor of the Seahawks early on.
Although the Seahawks were the second-ranked run defense this season, according to Football Outsiders' DVOA, it is an area that the Patriots will feel they can attack.
Even before star defensive tackle Brandon Mebane was placed on injured reserve, the Seahawks had shown fragility against bigger backs. In the NFC Championship Game, Eddie Lacy carried the ball 21 times for 73 yards.
However, Lacy lost four yards on three carries late in the fourth quarter when the Green Bay Packers were simply trying to keep the clock moving.
If you subtract those carries from his total, Lacy carried the ball 18 times for 77 yards, a 4.3 average per carry. When you add in backup running back James Starks' touches, five carries for 44 yards, it becomes clear that the Packers were able to have some success running the football.
Considering the quality of the Seahawks' secondary, it wouldn't make much sense for the Patriots to aggressively attack them through the air. Instead, a versatile attack with Blount as the primary focus would be smart.
In the NFC Championship Game, Lacy was able to consistently break tackles and make defenders miss in space. Blount and Lacy carry similar bulk, but importantly they both move fluidly in space and can quickly cut while working behind the line of scrimmage.
This run against the Colts not only highlights Blount's intelligence as a runner but also his athleticism to negate potential tacklers in space.
Despite their overall futility, this was one of the better-defended run plays for the Colts defense. Blount takes the ball while directed toward the left tackle. His right guard is pulling across the formation, but one of the Colts linebackers is aggressively filling the running lane.
That linebacker is going to meet the pulling guard behind the line of scrimmage.
Blount is quick to stop behind the line of scrimmage. He hesitates so he can read the linebacker's aggressive move against his lead blocker. That linebacker attacks the inside shoulder of the right guard, so Blount is able to push off his inside foot to slide outside of him.
At that point, Blount makes another plant with his outside foot. He aggressively pushes back infield, past two Colts defenders who are unable to contact him enough to pull him down.
Once he made that cut past the first two defenders, Blount was able to accelerate onto the second level. He was eventually taken down after an eight-yard gain. However, Blount created at least 10 yards on this play after he was initially stopped behind the line of scrimmage.
With the aggressiveness of the Seahawks run defense, this is the kind of play that Blount will need to make regularly in Arizona.
After Russell Wilson's first interception in the NFC Championship Game, the Packers had an opportunity to run in a score from inside the 5-yard line. They came up short on two attempts before kicking a field goal. The Patriots may be more aggressive in their play-calling, but they need to execute better too.
The Packers initially looked like they had scored when John Kuhn was stopped just short of the end zone on a fullback dive. After that play, Lacy ran the ball from a tight formation when he was stopped on first contact.
Because Kuhn's elbow landed just outside of the end zone, Lacy ran the ball from just inches out. He lined up in a heavy package with his fullback in front of him. Aaron Rodgers is going to give the ball to Lacy running off the left side.
A lot happens at the snap.
The Seahawks defensive line collapses inside, likely anticipating a quarterback sneak or fullback dive. Kuhn comes up and closes down on the defensive end, while the tight end outside establishes good positioning to create a wide running lane.
Lacy is taking the football from Rodgers at the 5-yard line, and he should have a relatively simple run into the end zone.
However, Malcolm Smith does an exceptional job redirecting his momentum over the middle of the field and moving quicker than Lacy to meet him in the hole. Smith hits Lacy one yard away from the line of scrimmage and stops him in his tracks.
Two more Seahawks defenders arrive after Lacy has been stood up to drive him backward and prevent him from scoring.
Lacy needed to be faster and show more power on this play. Smith is a weak-side linebacker who is better in space. He shouldn't be able to have this kind of impact on Lacy, one of the bigger power backs in the NFL.
Despite his size, Blount has a reputation as a running back who struggles in short-yardage situations. That hasn't been the case in the playoffs over the past two seasons, though.
Five of Blount's seven touchdowns over the past two postseasons came within five yards of the goal line. Although it must be noted that each of those runs came against the Colts defense, that is still a notable feat for a back with a poor reputation for short-yardage runs.
Two of Blount's three touchdowns from last week came close to the goal line.
On both of those plays, Blount showed off an impressive second effort to push his way into the end zone after initially being hit at the 1-yard line. Blount will need to show off this power and effort to be effective against the Seahawks.
Both Russell Wilson and Tom Brady will draw much more media coverage than Marshawn Lynch and Blount over the next week, but Blount and Lynch could be just as important in deciding the outcome of the game.
For a running back who was relegated to standing idly by on the sidelines for the Steelers just a few weeks ago, that is a major achievement.
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