Friday, November 18, 2011

Quantity over quality for Patriots' run game

The New England Patriots had the top rusher in five of their first six games, but they haven’t had much success running the ball since their Week 7 bye.

“Yeah at times it has been up and down this year,” Patriots guard Logan Mankins told New England reporters Thursday.

However, because the Patriots are obviously a pass-first offense, the quality of runs isn’t as important as quantity, because they’re going to pick up yards through the air regardless.


The rushing attack for a team like New England exists to keep defenses honest and pick up a decent chunk of yardage every now and then, or to pound it in on the goal line.

“As long as you get a lot of carries, you give yourself a good chance to win the game,” Mankins said.

New England rushed the ball 28 times against the New York Jets last Sunday – 25 if you don’t count quarterback Tom Brady’s carries, which are almost never designed.

“Last week, I liked the way we ran the ball,” Mankins said. “The outcome wasn't as good as we wanted, not as many yards. … They were trying to stop the run too. They had guys down there – played a lot of five man fronts so they didn't want us to run the ball and we kept trying to run the ball so that's always good."




Follow Nick @NickStDenis