New England Patriots to keep using Mike Gillislee as short yardage back
The New England Patriots are planning to use Mike Gillislee for short-yardage situations the second half of the season.
The New England Patriots lost a big part of their offense this offseason when LeGarrette Blount left as a free agent. Last season, Blount was a battering ram in short yardage situations, scoring 18 rushing touchdowns.
Part of the reason Blount was let go was that the Patriots stocked up on running backs in free agency. Before Blount even left, Rex Burkhead and Mike Gillislee were signed to contracts. With Dion Lewis, James White and Brandon Bolden, there was no longer a need for Blount on the roster.
The question remained, however, which running back would fill his shoes?
As we hit the midway point of the season, that has been a fluid situation. White is locked in as the passing down back, and Lewis has seemingly taken over as the lead back. Burkhead is used as a dual threat, while Gillislee has only worked on early downs and obvious rushing downs.
New England Patriots
The Patriots have a unique situation with such a diverse running back group. Each one is capable of filling a role, which excites running backs coach, Ivan Fears.
"“I like what we got going,” running backs coach Ivan Fears said Wednesday. “I like where they are. I like the mix. We’ve got some runners. We have some guys who can play in the passing game. I’ve got five guys that I think can help us.”"
There is no denying that the coaching staff likes the combination of running backs that they have. White leads the backfield with 42.9 percent of the snaps played. Gillislee is second at 26.3, followed by 25.1 percent for Lewis and 9.8 percent for Burkhead. Bolden has not yet played an offensive snap, as he is more of a special teams contributor.
A lot can be taken from those percentages. Burkhead missed four games because of injury, so his number will increase in the second half. Lewis barely saw the field the first four games of the season, logging 12 carries and five receptions. Since then, Lewis has seen his carries increase in four consecutive games, carrying the ball 46 times with five receptions.
With the usage for Lewis and Burkhead trending up, someone’s has to decrease. The most logical choice is Gillislee. With the injuries to the Patriots receiving corps, White’s role is locked in and could potentially increase depending on the severity of Chris Hogan‘s injury.
While Gillislee would seem to be heading to fewer touches, he will still be involved, especially in short-yardage situations.
"“Mike’s my biggest back. He’s my strongest runner. I’m going to give him a shot at it first,” Fears said. “If somebody has a chance to run through and make a play, he has a chance to do it as far as if he has to physically run through a guy.”"
Gillislee has seen his playing time decrease, averaging only 13 snaps per game in the last three games. However, Gillislee will be getting important touches if he remains the short-yardage back for the Patriots.
Recently the Patriots have been settling for a lot of field goals, as Stephen Gostkowski has attempted 18 field goals the past five games.
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For an offense led by Tom Brady, that is a lot of settling. Getting the short-yardage game going would help improve that. Gillislee will get the first crack at improving that in the second half of the season, but if his struggles continue it could be something the Patriots look to change sooner than later.