FOXBOROUGH — What’s that line about the best-laid plans?
This summer, everyone thought they had a pretty good idea as to what the Patriots’ offense would look like. A healthy dose of Rob Gronkowski. Mix in some Julian Edelman, Malcolm Mitchell and Kenny Britt at wide receiver. And maybe you make it work in the backfield with Jeremy Hill, Mike Gillislee, James White and Sony Michel. Lock it in.
Fast forward a few months. Who was surrounding Tom Brady in a key moment of the most anticipated regular-season game of the year? Cordarrelle Patterson was at running back. Josh Gordon was at wide receiver. And Dwayne Allen was at tight end.
Just like we all thought back in July, right?
For the second straight week, because of injury, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was forced to get creative. Without Gronkowski (who was out for the second time in three games) or Michel (who has struggled to stay healthy), McDaniels had Patterson at running back and Gordon as the lead option at wide receiver. That doesn’t even begin to take into account the fact the Pats were without their best pure offensive lineman in right guard Shaq Mason.
But sparked by some outside-the-box play calling — a double pass that was thrown from Edelman to White set the stage for a go-ahead touchdown — it was enough.
It wasn’t always crisp. It didn’t always work. (There was the forgettable sequence where McDaniels called a rollout on the goal-line in the third quarter.) But while they weren’t exactly drawing up plays in the dirt, McDaniels and the rest of the offense were able to rely on a little positional versatility, as well as a willingness to go above and beyond as needed.
Take Patterson: The receiver/kick returner added another dimension to his resume this year with the Patriots. He won’t make anyone forget Corey Dillon, but he ran hard for the second consecutive week. At the very least, he’s made himself into a nice depth option at a position where New England has struggled to stay healthy.
“They asked me if I can run the ball,” Patterson recalled of a conversation he had with coaches a couple of weeks ago. “I said, ‘I’ll do what you need me to do.’”
After he had 10 carries for 38 yards last week against the Bills, he added a team-high 11 carries for 61 yards and a rushing touchdown against the Packers.
“He’s a dynamic runner,” said fullback James Develin. “He’s so fast and so decisive, and that really lends itself to those types of situations. He reads the blocks well. He’s been doing it with kick returns and all that kind of stuff. He has great vision. I just have to get on my horse a little bit when I’m out front with him so he doesn’t run me down.”
“He’s a beast,” Edelman said. “He’s a powerful strong runner who can stop on a dime. He may mess around and make that his real position here soon, with the way he’s toting it.”
Cordarrelle Patterson is an awesome RB. It seems.pic.twitter.com/75ZuooA7kO
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 5, 2018
Josh Gordon : 5 catches for a season-high 130 yards & a TD on 10 targets pic.twitter.com/BW9DC3vxwz
— Lee Harvey (@MusikFan4Life25) November 5, 2018