Monday Musings: Home Rule, Gronk Gone Wild, Running Backs Galore
By Joe Lewis
Who’s it going to be in the New England backfield this week? Pick your poison.
In perhaps the scariest bit of news for opposing defensive coordinators, the Patriots backfield overfloweth with talent. Linebackers beware.
Rock steady LeGarrette Blount keeps coming up with big chunks of yards in fourth quarter play, which is exactly what you want from your bruiser when you need to keep the clock moving. His two-yard first quarter plunges into the teeth of the defensive line are often misleading. They make Blount appear slow, but as the game progresses and those tackles start sucking wind, Blount seems to find another gear. What starts as a below average day winds up being 50 yards on 13 carries (3.8 YPC) and a touchdown.
After teasing Patriots fans with flashes of brilliance over the past couple seasons, James White seems to finally be putting the pieces together. Barely seeing the field in 2014, White emerged last year as a new option for New England but was quickly overshadowed by Dion Lewis. He caught just 40 balls in 2015 but is already on pace to shatter that total with 25 receptions through just six games this year.
At the very least, Sunday’s game made it apparent that White has become an important safety valve for Tom Brady. He has the ability to quickly get to the edge when fed the ball in the flat and is displaying more confidence in his ability to make plays than he has in his previous two seasons. He hauled in 8 passes for 47 yards and two touchdowns Sunday and has rightly earned his share of snaps going forward. Coupled with Blount’s bulldozing style, White offers a strong change-of-pace and gives defenses one more weapon, among a plethora of them, that they must account for in the passing game.
… and that Dion Lewis guy is coming back soon, I hear.
What a charmed life Josh McDaniels is leading right now with all these shiny toys on offense.