FOXBOROUGH - You know I'm not a big fan of the preamble. Wasted words mean wasting time. No, thank you. So let's get to it: this Patriots running game has been a massive disappointment through the first five weeks of the season, regardless of what stat or metric you look at. To wit:
- 24th in rushing DVOA
- 27th in rushing offense (95.2 yards per game)
- 28th in yards per carry (3.75)
- 31st in rush success rate
- 32nd in rush EPA
It doesn't matter who's running the ball or what scheme they're using. At best, it has been inconsistent; at worst, ineffective. And that's with a mobile quarterback in Drake Maye (110 yards, 4.1 YPC). Throw in a season-ending injury to their best back through five weeks (Antonio Gibson), and you wonder how it's going to improve.
“Just keep working at it,” Mike Vrabel said. “It has to be better at the line of scrimmage, at the second level, and try to finish and break some of these. We’ve had some good runs, but not enough of them. We’ve got to stop talking about being one guy away, one block away.”
The trio of Rhamondre Stevenson (3), TreVeyon Henderson (3), and Gibson (3) have just nine runs of 10 or more yards, and only one (Stevenson for 22) that surpassed 20. Considering the offensive line ranks 13th in yards before contact, that suggests more of the struggles fall on the running back room, as I've illustrated those in this space before.
Henderson, in particular, is not consistently seeing holes that are there or having the patience to slow down a beat and allow the line/tight ends to create an alley. Perhaps the more he plays, the slower the game will be for the rookie. In the meantime, the idea of turning over a bulk of the carries to him seems rash and or desperate, even with Stevenson's fumbling issues. Henderson has just four forced missed tackles in 32 attempts. Stevenson has 11 in 38.
"Just trust ourselves, just us and the O-line, getting on the same page, same tracks, things like that," Stevenson said. "I don't think we're far away, though.
"Just got to keep working at it," added Will Campbell. "Keep chopping away at it. Give these guys a chance. We've got some really talented guys behind us. All they need is a little sliver, and they'll make something go. It's on us."
Josh McDaniels, whose run plan was publicly questioned after the Week 1 loss to the Raiders, has varied his approach. Per PFF, the Pats have 34 zone runs and 52 of the gap variety. Neither has gained any traction to where the coaching staff can declare that's what they're best at. Based on the bulk of Mike Onwenu and Morgan Moses on that right side and some struggles getting to the second level, the wide zone runs should recede into the background. But with only five weeks of data, it seems unlikely that McDaniels will give up the ghost. In fact, like Vrabel and Stevenson, he believes that more reps will eventually pay dividends.
"I don't think there's any shortcut to that," he said. "I know it's not for lack of effort on anybody's part. I think you just got to keep working at it. That sometimes is a little bit of a process that comes behind the passing game at times. There's time on task, time in pads, things like that, that we're continuing to try to work on, and we'll be doing it again today."
The pads comment is interesting to me, because the Pats had a lighter training camp. There wasn't a lot of hitting, and Vrabel thinks the work the team gets done wouldn't change much based on the rules. There's no cutting in practice, and as the season advances, taking guys to the ground is strongly discouraged. However, perhaps that, too, is contributing to the sluggish start.
"I think patience is important in that regard, and not abandoning things and looking for one answer here or there," McDaniels said. "I think we got to stick with our details, our techniques, our fundamentals, and continue to get better at them, and then finish. I think we've seen some really good examples of us finishing blocks. If you get a few more of those on a certain play here or there, it changes the outcome of the perception of what you're doing in a running game."
This might be a good week to get it going. The Saints are surrendering 130 yards per game on the ground, and after speaking with NewOrleans.football founder Nick Underhill (whose site is outstanding), it doesn't sound like that number is a fluke. This Brandon Staley scheme, combined with some of the talent deficiencies, is making the Saints a movable object. Then again, the Bills had been run on in the four weeks prior to the Pats game, and then looked stout on Sunday night. So I wouldn't bet the house on it.
One final note on the run game. I asked Stevenson what the coaching staff's support has meant to him and about his resolve.
"It shows me that they believe in me," he said. "And, at this point, it's time for me to do my part, you know, and give them 100% trust."
Stevenson's being paid like a top-10ish back. Now would be a good time to start running like one.
GONZALEZ LIMITED WITH HAMSTRING AGAIN
Not good news for the Patriots. Must have tweaked it in practice on Wednesday.
However, cornerbacks coach Justin Hamilton, who spoke to reporters after practice, said this was part of a plan, and Gonzalez re-joined the team later on.
"He's on a plan with [head coach Mike Vrabel] and Frank [Piraino, director of sports performance] with Jim [Whalen, vice president of sports medicine and performance and head athletic trainer] in the training room, and it’s kind of a warm-up, the early portion of practice, just to do more," Hamilton said, according to 98.5 The SportsHub. "Because some of the stuff is special teams or things where it’s like jog-through walk-through, so it’s for him to be able to get to the pace he can go at to be able to go out there when we are in the speed periods of practice."
