JerseySTEEL
09-16-2008, 12:43 AM
FOXBORO — The Patriots aren’t surprised that they defeated the Jets, 19-10, Sunday afternoon at Giants Stadium.
You shouldn’t be, either.
Because when one of the New England Patriots’ starters goes down, it’s his backup’s job to keep the well-oiled machine going.
Backup quarterback Matt Cassel has done that for two consecutive weeks now.
It’s the same philosophy for the running backs.
With Kyle Eckel re-signing with the team yesterday, the Patriots have six running backs on their roster.
While third-year running back Laurence Maroney is expected to carry the bulk of the load, he has been injured a lot during his career. He re-injured his shoulder in the second quarter against the Jets on Sunday, but his teammates filled in nicely.
Former Jet LaMont Jordan carried the load when Maroney left the game, recording a team-high 11 carries for a team-high 62 yards. He leads the team in rushing with 68 yards on 13 carries (5.2 average).
“LaMont is a tough guy to tackle. When he gets his pads down, he runs hard,” New England coach Bill Belichick said.
Kevin Faulk, meanwhile, had three carries for 16 yards, four receptions for 50 yards and three punt returns for 53 yards, which gave the Patriots good field position.
“Kevin has made a lot of big plays for us through the years in the kicking game, on offense, running the ball and as a receiver. He had some big ones again [on Sunday], and I thought his punt returns were excellent,” Belichick said. “They gave us great field position. He handled the ball well.”
Heath Evans led the Patriots running backs in snaps (on the field for 26 of the 59 snaps), paving the way for his fellow backs as a blocker and lining up out wide at times. Sammy Morris scored New England’s only touchdown when he dived over a pile of would-be tacklers and landed in the end zone with 6:20 remaining in the third quarter to give New England a 13-3 lead.
“We had a lot of backs who all contributed,” Belichick said. “Kevin did a great job for us. Laurence ran hard and blocked well. Sammy had some big catches and blocks, as did LaMont. I think our depth at running back definitely helped us in this game. We struggled during the first three quarters running the ball, but in the end we got some tough runs when we needed them.”
Maroney’s shoulder injury isn’t serious, and he returned to the game in the fourth quarter. He gained 51 yards on 10 carries in the Patriots’ season-opening 17-10 victory over Kansas City.
Maroney showed everybody what he could do over the Pats’ final seven games last year, when he racked up 586 yards, which included a subpar 36-yard effort against the Giants in the Super Bowl.
Maroney and Morris provided a solid 1-2 punch for the Patriots last season before Morris broke his collarbone in week six against Dallas, which ended Morris’ season. He is back and says he’s 100 percent healthy.
Before getting hurt, Morris had registered back-to-back 100-yard rushing games for the first time in his career. In the six games he played in, he totaled 384 yards and averaged a career-best 4.5 yards per carry last season. Morris had three touchdowns and six receptions.
When Morris went down, Faulk, who is in his 10th NFL season, stepped up. Voted team captain for the first time last year, Faulk enjoyed a stellar season. He played in every game for just the second time of his career, and his 47 receptions were four shy of his career high, which he set in his second season.
In addition, the Patriots’ career all-time receptions leader for running backs hauled in 20 passes over three postseason games.
Because both Maroney, who missed three games last year due to injuries, and Morris missed a lot of playing time last season, the Patriots signed Jordan, an eight-year NFL veteran, as an insurance policy.
On Sunday, Jordan proved he still has a lot left in the tank.
“He’s a big kid, he can run inside, run outside, and he can catch the ball,” Belichick said of Jordan after he was signed. “He is a good pass receiver in terms of route running. He’s instinctive and he’s returned kicks. We will see how all that manifests itself going forward.”
Evans became a big threat on the goal line last season after Morris was injured and recorded a single-season career-best three touchdowns.
“Heath, Laurence, Sammy, Kevin and LaMont have all been productive with the ball in their hands either running it or catching it, and in some cases returning it,” Belichick said.
All of the Patriots’ running backs believe they are interchangeable parts, and they think that if someone goes down, another player can step up.
They proved that on Sunday.
You shouldn’t be, either.
Because when one of the New England Patriots’ starters goes down, it’s his backup’s job to keep the well-oiled machine going.
Backup quarterback Matt Cassel has done that for two consecutive weeks now.
It’s the same philosophy for the running backs.
With Kyle Eckel re-signing with the team yesterday, the Patriots have six running backs on their roster.
While third-year running back Laurence Maroney is expected to carry the bulk of the load, he has been injured a lot during his career. He re-injured his shoulder in the second quarter against the Jets on Sunday, but his teammates filled in nicely.
Former Jet LaMont Jordan carried the load when Maroney left the game, recording a team-high 11 carries for a team-high 62 yards. He leads the team in rushing with 68 yards on 13 carries (5.2 average).
“LaMont is a tough guy to tackle. When he gets his pads down, he runs hard,” New England coach Bill Belichick said.
Kevin Faulk, meanwhile, had three carries for 16 yards, four receptions for 50 yards and three punt returns for 53 yards, which gave the Patriots good field position.
“Kevin has made a lot of big plays for us through the years in the kicking game, on offense, running the ball and as a receiver. He had some big ones again [on Sunday], and I thought his punt returns were excellent,” Belichick said. “They gave us great field position. He handled the ball well.”
Heath Evans led the Patriots running backs in snaps (on the field for 26 of the 59 snaps), paving the way for his fellow backs as a blocker and lining up out wide at times. Sammy Morris scored New England’s only touchdown when he dived over a pile of would-be tacklers and landed in the end zone with 6:20 remaining in the third quarter to give New England a 13-3 lead.
“We had a lot of backs who all contributed,” Belichick said. “Kevin did a great job for us. Laurence ran hard and blocked well. Sammy had some big catches and blocks, as did LaMont. I think our depth at running back definitely helped us in this game. We struggled during the first three quarters running the ball, but in the end we got some tough runs when we needed them.”
Maroney’s shoulder injury isn’t serious, and he returned to the game in the fourth quarter. He gained 51 yards on 10 carries in the Patriots’ season-opening 17-10 victory over Kansas City.
Maroney showed everybody what he could do over the Pats’ final seven games last year, when he racked up 586 yards, which included a subpar 36-yard effort against the Giants in the Super Bowl.
Maroney and Morris provided a solid 1-2 punch for the Patriots last season before Morris broke his collarbone in week six against Dallas, which ended Morris’ season. He is back and says he’s 100 percent healthy.
Before getting hurt, Morris had registered back-to-back 100-yard rushing games for the first time in his career. In the six games he played in, he totaled 384 yards and averaged a career-best 4.5 yards per carry last season. Morris had three touchdowns and six receptions.
When Morris went down, Faulk, who is in his 10th NFL season, stepped up. Voted team captain for the first time last year, Faulk enjoyed a stellar season. He played in every game for just the second time of his career, and his 47 receptions were four shy of his career high, which he set in his second season.
In addition, the Patriots’ career all-time receptions leader for running backs hauled in 20 passes over three postseason games.
Because both Maroney, who missed three games last year due to injuries, and Morris missed a lot of playing time last season, the Patriots signed Jordan, an eight-year NFL veteran, as an insurance policy.
On Sunday, Jordan proved he still has a lot left in the tank.
“He’s a big kid, he can run inside, run outside, and he can catch the ball,” Belichick said of Jordan after he was signed. “He is a good pass receiver in terms of route running. He’s instinctive and he’s returned kicks. We will see how all that manifests itself going forward.”
Evans became a big threat on the goal line last season after Morris was injured and recorded a single-season career-best three touchdowns.
“Heath, Laurence, Sammy, Kevin and LaMont have all been productive with the ball in their hands either running it or catching it, and in some cases returning it,” Belichick said.
All of the Patriots’ running backs believe they are interchangeable parts, and they think that if someone goes down, another player can step up.
They proved that on Sunday.