NE39

Pretty good summary from John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News:

363839

That was a cool read. Thanks for the link.
One thing I disagree with the writer.
Westbrook over the Pats runners.
Doesn't most of Westbrooks yardage accumulation come from
out of the backfield catches. I mean, I don't think he can bust through a
line of scrimmage like our guys though he is an awesome play maker and dangerous, I just don't think his north/south running is better than the Pats runners.

reflexblue

I thought the same thing Brian Westbrook is better than Taylor, Morris and Maroney

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PatsFanSince74

Nice piece. Thanks. Great sports towns deserve great sports writers.

On the running game debate, the Pats backfield is so different this year that we really won't know until five or six games into the season what we have. No doubt the combination will be strong and good; how strong and how good, that's the question. It could be off the charts, IMO.

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Rob0729

It is hard to argue that the Pats don't have the best roster in the NFL. This is a throwback to the Super Bowl year teams in that it has to be the deepest team in the NFL. You look at d-line, CB, WR, o-line, and RB and the several of the players who will be cut have a good chance of getting picked up by another team and actually make some kind of impact (maybe not a starter, but at least as a role player).

Funktopus

Westbrook is probably better than Taylor, Morris or Moroney individually. The problem with him is his inability to contribute to an entire season of football without getting hurt. In that respect, the Pats depth definitely has an advantage. So, I think it would be fair to say that for a full season Westbrook is not better than Taylor, Morris and Moroney as a group.

patchick

Westbrook is a terrific talent, but I'll take the total Pats total backfield easily. In fact, want to see something impressive? Here are 2008 stats. Line 1 is the big star Westbrook, Line 2 is Sammy Morris + Kevin Faulk combined.

ATT YDS AVG LNG | REC YDS AVG LNG
233 936 4.0 39 | 52 402 7.4 47
239 1234 5.2 41 | 75 647 8.6 42

Yep, the tandem of Morris & Faulk blew away Westbrook -- without Brady under center. Then consider that the Eagles' "other" RBs are LeSean McCoy, Lorenzo Booker, and Eldra Buckley. The Patriots' "other" RBs are Fred Taylor and Laurence Maroney. Advantage Patriots, wouldn't you say?

reflexblue

I have never thought of Westbrook as a number one back ala Curtis Martin. I think of him more like Kevin Faulk, someone who can run, but gets most of their yards catching the ball out of the backfield.

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robertweathers

I pretty much agree and think you are right overall. However, since 2004, he has started 67 (played in 69) out of a possible 80 games and has been incredibly productive IMO hes been a little more durable that what maybe the perception is. But yea, hes 200 lbs, turn 30 in Sept. and is coming off ankle surgery.

Pats blow the Eagles out of the water in the depth dept.

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363839

Great stat comparisons. Thanks for putting those together, Patschick.
This verifies what I suspected regarding the running part but I didn't expect the receiving yards to exceed Westbrooks'.
Is that from last year or 07?

And yes, I would say advantage Patriots with confidence now.