Am I the only one that prefers Gray to Blount?

I like Gray's grind out 4 yards style, while Blount is more of a threat and is more punishing. BUT, Give Brady a 2nd and 6 or a 3rd and 3, and I have confidence he will convert and keep the drive alive.

With Blount and his dancing behind the line, you end up in frequent 2nd and 11s. Those kill drives.

The plus side is that Blount's 2nd and 1 also give you a chance to go downfield, and that opens up the game.

So, Blount gives the offense more dimensions, but I like what Gray gives them better, and that's the consistency that Brady can capitalize on.

I felt the same about Blount last year as well.

The one caveat to this is that I like to see the Patriots ride Blunt in the mid to late 3rd qtr. when the D wears down all the way until game's end.

I think it depends......while between the tackles, both are completely different when it comes to tackling

the best comparison is that there is not difference.....they both ground the colts to a nub.......beyond that, they will both struggle if the OL doesn't get some push

Cosigned.

Totally agree. Give me the guy who consistently gets 4-6 yards versus the guy who gets 2 or 20. That said I love Blount force trama to end the game as he is fantastic in that closer role and spreads the hits around so everyone is fresh for the playoffs.

I think the stuffed runs are a product of line play, not RB play. If anything, Blount made something out of nothing on several runs on Sunday.

I think we'd need to see their negative yardage or stuffed run stats, and with Gray, the sample size is really small.

No, I've made several posts stating that Gray should play initially as he's faster to the hole & for the same reason be used at the goal line. He runs lower which is also better at the goal line. Harder to see too.
THEN in the 3rd QTR let Gray rest a bit and unleash Blount Force Trauma as the D gets tired.

Gray should start, Blount 2nd half

I think they bring different aspects. Blount is better when we can open bigger holes, and he gets a one on one matchup in the open field. But when we struggle with that and can only get small holes then I prefer Gray because I think he's better at finding and hitting smaller holes. I think Gray would have been the better option against the Chargers when we struggled with opening big holes.

Give them equal carries and ride the guy who's in rhythm in the fourth.

I love the way Gray trusts and uses blockers and how low he runs. That said, Blount is a bigger, more punishing back and his pad level keeps getting lower. I would need a bigger sample size to determine who I would prefer, which would require that Gray get more touches in the short term.

Everyone was moist in the loins after Blount ran it up against the Colts last playoffs just like they were with Gray against the Colts a few weeks ago.

There is insufficient detail to put one ahead of the other.

The best news is that it seems that they are similar enough where it doesn't matter which one plays.......platoon 'em, and grind everyone to a nub

but more importantly, we need Cameron Fleming back

I agree. I was a fan of Blount last year and I love him late in games but he has ruined the flow of our offense. We are not a true power running team but we seem to think so just because we have Blount. Our line isn't going to just bully guys like that. A lot of our short yardage runs look like straight up goal line runs and that wasn't the case before he arrived due to the fact that we would pass in some of those situations or that the box wouldn't be that loaded.

Also, I like Gray. He is deceptively good and has more pure speed than bjge ever had. I will admit that play action seems to work better when we consistently keep Blount on the field though. Teams seem to really sell out to stop him.

I think I'm just fine with the experienced guy versus the one game wonder.

Whatever Ivan Fears and company see in practice every day is good enough for me.

Agree that Flemming is needed. I'm puzzled as to how & why Hooperson has a spot on the 53 and is actually on the field. His blocking shrinks like my **** in cold ocean water when facing tough opposition and any few catches he makes can go to Wright or FB Devlin. Get him off the 46.

Blount can take it to the house, Gray...not so much.

I like using them BOTH, and for the life of me, cannot understand BB's/McD's thinking on sinking Gray.

A DOUBLE BARREL shotgun.

Galeb said:

I love the way Gray trusts and uses blockers and how low he runs. That said, Blount is a bigger, more punishing back and his pad level keeps getting lower. I would need a bigger sample size to determine who I would prefer, but a bigger sample size certainly means that Gray gets more touches in the short term.

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Completely agree. Even if one wants to make the case that we don't have enough of a sample to adequately how good Gray really is.... that is only more reason to give Gray carries, not less.

IMO, the combination of Fleming's absence and the fact that the team has trailed by at least 11 in both games since has pushed Gray to the backburner. Hopefully they'll have a few double digit leads in the next few weeks to give Jonas more chances to prove himself heading into the playoffs.

shmessy said:

I like using them BOTH, and for the life of me, cannot understand BB's/McD's thinking on sinking Gray.

A DOUBLE BARREL shotgun.

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Bingo. How many other teams can trot off their 250 lb halfback only to replace him with a 235 one? And what defense would be able to hold up to that for an entire game?

all in all, it's a pretty good 'whatever works' situation to have........teams can't key on the passing game and that's what is most important

BradyManny said:

I think the stuffed runs are a product of line play, not RB play. If anything, Blount made something out of nothing on several runs on Sunday.

I think we'd need to see their negative yardage or stuffed run stats, and with Gray, the sample size is really small.

Click to expand...

+1 on this, especially the part about the O-line. I would add that I'd love to see Gray's sample size increased. Blount is great... can Gray be as good or better? Only way we find out is to hand him the ball. I'd love to see each one get the rock 10-15 times per game... opens up a lot of play action, and grinds defenses down. But that's just me...