Tomase's Two-Headed Monster column...

[patsox23]

another good one, going the extra mile (which no one else seems to have done):

http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=157659

 

[hwc]

Great article. I wish we had more like that.

Do ya figure Belichick tipped him off about the three running back tandems in the history of the NFL to have ever rushed for a 1000 yards each?

I liked this snippet from Kevin Mack, half of the Mack/Byner tandem that last did it for Cleveland in 1985:

“I had no idea how much people did not want to play us because of the way we ran,†Mack said. “They’d say, ‘You all just KILLED us, you ran so hard.’ It’s funny to hear that now. I was in Cleveland over the summer for a little internship at training camp and talked to Maurice Carthon, their offensive coordinator. He said, ‘Man, I never saw a team wear down our (Giants) defense like you guys did.’ I didn’t have a clue.â€

Hmmm. 1985. I wonder who was the defensive coordinator of the Giants defense that year? Oh, yeah. A kid named Belichick. Bet he's already put together highlight reels of Czonka/Morris, Harris/Bleier, and Mack/Byner to challenge Dillon/Maroney. What a great way to motivate Dillion and the youngster. 1000 yards each to join thos three tandems in the NFL record books.

 

[DarrylS]

Great article. I wish we had more like that.

Hmmm. 1985. I wonder who was the defensive coordinator of the Giants defense that year? Oh, yeah. A kid named Belichick. Bet he's already put together highlight reels of Czonka/Morris, Harris/Bleier, and Mack/Byner to challenge Dillon/Maroney. What a great way to motivate Dillion and the youngster. 1000 yards each to join thos three tandems in the NFL record books.

That would be interesting, bordering on great, while high powered offenses are in vogue in the NFL... I like a couple of td passes, with a time of possession of 40+ minutes. With our crew of TE's and the healthy RB's this could possible, it would also show the genius of BB and crew.

 

[Ahriman]

Tomase really can be a top-notch writer/reporter when he wants to be, but more often than not he gets caught up in that Felger-esque web of being an absolute douche.

But yes, it is a great article.

 

[Dagg]

Mack and Byner used to own on old tecmo bowl!

 

[Brownfan80]

Pretty good article. Tomase seems to be either a homerun hitter or a 3rd and 1 fumbler (to fuse two completely different sports analogies).

I either really love his articles or really hate them. But at least he's not like Borges or Felger, whose stuff I always dislike.

He's no Reiss though.

 

[hughthehand]

It only takes an average of 62.5 yds per game to get 1,000 yds in a 16 game season.

Week 1

Maroney 17 carries for 86 yds , 5.06 yds/carry = 272 for 1,376 yd pace
Dillon 16 carries for 73 yds , 4.56 yds/carry = 256 for 1,168 yd pace


If this pace continues, the Pats are going to win a lot of games this year.

Its going to be a fun year. I really hope that Brady and Gabriel get on the same page. Nothing would compliment our running game better than a great play action deep threat.

 

[shmessy]

GREAT work by Tomase.

The part that hit me was this:
_________
" “Corey is the downfield runner who can really take guys on,” said center Dan Koppen. “Laurence has that shiftiness to him. It’s a nice a change of pace.
“Every offensive lineman coming up would rather run the ball more than pass it. It’s a mentality. Lineman like to go out and hit someone, not wait for someone to hit them. You’d rather be proactive, even if that’s not the way the game works.”
Koppen may get his wish this season, which has a chance to mirror Cleveland in ’85."
___________

Think that might have some influence on whether Koppen goes to another team next year for 5% more, or whether he stays here in a great OL situation?

If the Pats are 15+% lower, maybe not, but if they're close, this situation may be a positive in Koppen's mind to tip the balance.

 

[marty]

It was a good read, but at the end I did think...What about Faulk and Evans?

 

[SeanBruschi54]

I'm one of the first people to trash him but that was a good article.


If he wrote more like that then i would actually like him.

 

[BelichickFan]

It was a good read, but at the end I did think...What about Faulk and Evans?

Evans is nothing more than a journeyman scrub. Faulk is AWESOME at what he does - the best in the league - but he's still just a pass receiving RB, not to be compared in any way to Dillon and Maroney.

 

[shmessy]

Evans is nothing more than a journeyman scrub. Faulk is AWESOME at what he does - the best in the league - but he's still just a pass receiving RB, not to be compared in any way to Dillon and Maroney.

Exactly. I still don't understand the Heath Evans Fan Club.

If Patrick Pass is healthy by week 6, Evans should get a hearty handshake and thanks for the effort.

 

[PATSNUTme]

But, wait!

If Maroney starts getting as many reps as Corey and has sucess, that when Corey starts sulking and making trouble.

Isn't that what many of the media and some on this board have been saying?

So, this article flies in the face of convetional wisdom, right?

 

[RayClay]

But, wait!

If Maroney starts getting as many reps as Corey and has sucess, that when Corey starts sulking and making trouble.

Isn't that what many of the media and some on this board have been saying?

So, this article flies in the face of convetional wisdom, right?

You never know what could happen!

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...ageid=968867503640&col=970081593064&t=TS_Home

 

[scout]

But, wait!

If Maroney starts getting as many reps as Corey and has sucess, that when Corey starts sulking and making trouble.

Isn't that what many of the media and some on this board have been saying?

So, this article flies in the face of convetional wisdom, right?

I'm going with the wisdom that Corey will think this kid is going to prolong his career. The Patriots will keep racking up wins and the RB tandem will keep racking up yards. Corey will most likely get the nod on short and goal and score some TD's. I really don't see him complaining about reps. But, who knows.

 

[PATSNUTme]

I'm going with the wisdom that Corey will think this kid is going to prolong his career. The Patriots will keep racking up wins and the RB tandem will keep racking up yards. Corey will most likely get the nod on short and goal and score some TD's. I really don't see him complaining about reps. But, who knows.

Bingo!

I never thought that Corey would be that way either. Yet, there were ample articles and posts saying that.

You don't see many of those anymore.

 

[FSUPatsFan]

That would be interesting, bordering on great, while high powered offenses are in vogue in the NFL... I like a couple of td passes, with a time of possession of 40+ minutes. With our crew of TE's and the healthy RB's this could possible, it would also show the genius of BB and crew.

Yeah, I agree. Remember when we played the Colts in 2004 and we had that 90+ yd drive that ate up over 9 minutes of the clock and virtually put the game out of reach? Then Belichick went on to say after the game something to the effect of "That was one of the best executed drives and half of football that this team has had all season" I hope that with our two headed monster, our monster TE, our other TE, Kevin Faulk, and the WR that we can have drives like that week in and week out. I'd rather win a game 21-10 where we just pound the defense the whole game and have control of the ball most of the game rather than winning Colts style and scoring in 12 seconds only to have our defense play most of the game.

 

[hwc]

But, wait!

If Maroney starts getting as many reps as Corey and has sucess, that when Corey starts sulking and making trouble.

Isn't that what many of the media and some on this board have been saying?

So, this article flies in the face of convetional wisdom, right?

That's why I suspect that Belichick planted the seeds for this article with Tomase. And, that he has probably already given Dillion and Maroney highlight DVDs of Czonka/Morris, Harris/Bleier, and Mack/Byner to inspire them.

Think about it. Dillion is a great running back, not far behind OJ Simpson in total yardage, but at an age where feeding him the ball 25 or 30 times a game will kill him (figuratively speaking). He's got a big contract, so you want to maximize his production for a couple or three years. Likewise, you don't want to run the rookie into the ground. What Marty is doing in San Diego, pounding Tomlinson 35 times a game, is just insane.

So, give them a challenge to do something that's only been done three times in the history of the NFL. Get them working toward the SAME goal.

---------

Keep in mind that Belichick pounded the ball with his two-headed monster on Sunday despite playing without a lead.
On the final drive, he was willing to kill the last 6:15 on the clock with a lead of only 2 points -- eight plays, one pass, seven consecutive Dillon and Maroney runs, including a run on 4th and 2 from field goal range. What that tells me is that he knew the two-headed monster had worn down the Bills defense. He knew it because he had watched his Giants defense get worn down by Mack/Byner in 1985.

He fed that story to Tomase, knowing that Dillon and Maroney (and the whole team) would read it. The two-headed monster becomes a "talking point" in the locker room.

Meanwhile, the defenses have to back off that all out pass defense they've been using against Brady for most of the last three or four years. Stay in nickle packages and Maroney/Dillion will run you into the ground. Fresh backs all day against a small defense? At some point, they've got to bring the safety up and go 8-in-the-box.

8-in-the-box against Tom Brady. Think about it. Hello Ben Watson!

Doing this from a base 2 TE set is particularly nasty because the Pats can run or pass from the same set.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

It also gives Maroney time to learn more about the blocking scheme and develop his "vision." In the offensive breakdowns I've done, Maroney doesn't have the same timing with the O-line that Cory does. If you look at their actual per play production, Maroney's speed and shiftiness got him the long runs once he broke in the clear, but Cory was able to get extra yardage on his runs by having better timing with the O-line and a better understanding of how they were going to block the play. Maroney is going to be an even better runner long term for having been in Dillon's hip pocket.