Running game/short yardage futility

[TommyD4207]

With Maye's athleticism and ability to roll out, improvise, throw on the run or beat a defender to the edge it's mindboggling that we were stymied on the goal line like that.

He's 23, in his second season.
Give him a chance to learn and get better. Easy to forget after a season like he's had to this point.

 

[PatsFan2]

He's 23, in his second season.
Give him a chance to learn and get better. Easy to forget after a season like he's had to this point.

Maye's getting better in the Pocket not at Mahomes level yet: but he'll learn fast with Lowe on his blind side.

 

[Real fan 02]

After the injuries, the most concerning aspect of the Cincy game was being emasculated by their defensive front who we made look like the Steel Curtain.

This is an offensive line problem from what I saw, not a running back problem. Not being able to punch it in from the goal line on successive tries is unacceptable for a team with playoff aspirations.

I also thought Maye's QB sneak was terrible (granted the blocking was worse). In hindsight, being about a foot from the goal like I think he should have tried to out stretch his arms and reach over the top.

Any thoughts on this problem? Can it be fixed? The Pats don't necessarily have to average 5 YPC a game, but they need to be able to pick up 1 yard when the game is on the line.

Short yardage situation has been an issue all season for them.. it's frustrating watching pathetic offenses pick up short yards with ease.. watching the short yardage yesterday gave me shades of AVP last season..

Having to use Tonga the past few games at short yardage because the RBs and the 5 OL can't seem to get 1 measley yard has to be driving Vrabel nuts..

This team can seem to convert 3rd and longs better than they can at goal line situations.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

Then try a roll out to the right away from weakness at least once. Dumbfounded at the OC calls. And I like Josh but this was a D game for him.

seems like everyone saying how bad bengals d is, he didnt try to be creative

 

[TinhWoodhead]

With Maye's athleticism and ability to roll out, improvise, throw on the run or beat a defender to the edge it's mindboggling that we were stymied on the goal line like that.

yeah they kept running straight into the wall

 

[mike_usagisan]

yeah they kept running straight into the wall

The stats said they were bad at stopping runs up the gut. What he didn't remember is that we're worse at running up the gut.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

He's 23, in his second season.
Give him a chance to learn and get better. Easy to forget after a season like he's had to this point.

I thought it was more of an OC/execution issue. One of the few times this year I really disagreed with coaching calls. But that's a tangential issue, and the real problem is our lack of push in short-yardage situations. Need to improve there prior to the post season, ideally.

 

[mike_usagisan]

Not going to get better until we get a better interior line.

 

[Mack Herron]

 

[mgteich]

OUR OC MUST REALIZE THAT
1) we have the OL that we have, much, much better than last year, and one that will improve next year as the rooks progress.
2) we have the RB's that we have, none of whom can be counted on to convert a 4th and 1.
3) running up the middle on 4th and 1 i=doesn't a high probability of succeeding.
5) our starting FB aren't sufficient to succeed on 4th and 1 against many defenses.
6) we don't want our franchise running QB sneaks.
-------------
The OC needs to develop a different set of options for 4th and short

 

[sb1]

Time for McDaniels and Marrone to get to work and be creative solving this problem

 

[rkarp1]

couple of points here
McD maybe had his worst game since the Raiders game
through out his career, he has a few stinkers. it happens to every coach/co-ord

I wonder if the injuries (Tonga, Campbell, Wilson) didn't allow the Pats to go jumbo, seeing as Tonga was out and Brown was at RG.
would the results have been different with a jumbo in the backfield?

noticed how Westover did not get a single attempt to plow it into the endzone.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Pass blocking has been pretty shaky. Run blocking is really bad and the worst I've seen since 2024 and 2019.

 

[mgteich]

Pass blocking has been pretty shaky. Run blocking is really bad and the worst I've seen since 2024 and 2019.

The worst since 2024? The horror, the horror!

 

[Patsfan1645]

Our run game is about as vanilla as it could get. We don't have the horses to make a hand off up the middle effective with any consistency. Josh is so creative with the pass game but not the run which is confusing to me. Henderson has speed, I would like to see him stretch it out with some plays to the outside.

 

[jdlboot14]

So many speak presumptuously that our OL is so much better than last year.
But, it is empirically not in run blocking. Yes, this group is much better at pass blocking - thanks specifically to Campbell and Moses. But it doesn't seem that Wilson and Bradbury are that much better than Jordan/Robinson & Brown from last year.

And that's a massive problem. Our run blocking will absolutely be the cause of our 1 & done in the playoffs if we don't get better in the last 5 weeks.

 

[signbabybrady]

Everything on offense is better than last including LT with the exception of the other 4 OL somehow they might actually be worse.

 

[Patsfan1645]

So many speak presumptuously that our OL is so much better than last year.
But, it is empirically not in run blocking. Yes, this group is much better at pass blocking - thanks specifically to Campbell and Moses. But it doesn't seem that Wilson and Bradbury are that much better than Jordan/Robinson & Brown from last year.

And that's a massive problem. Our run blocking will absolutely be the cause of our 1 & done in the playoffs if we don't get better in the last 5 weeks.

I would add being predictable. I tried to look it up but couldnt find the play by play but I feel like on 1st down 90% of the time its a run up the middle.

 

[Tunescribe]

Not going to get better until we get a better interior line.

Agreed. It's a talent issue, not coaching. Bradbury is undersized, Onwenu lacks explosiveness, Wilson is more center than guard material, Ben Brown is more a pass blocker, Moses is more a finesse guy/pass blocker; Campbell probably is the best run blocker of the bunch.

As far as the Bengals game, Campbell and Wilson going out definitely hurt things re. communication and chemistry. The coaching staff has its hands full figuring out ways to compensate for the injuries. Even then, it's still a better situation than last season with Brown/Lowe having veteran experience. They should be better prepared going forward because of superior coaching.

 

[mgteich]

Not going to get better until we get a better interior line.

This team and others have had to play with weak run blockers in the middle before.

That simply means that the OC needs to devise plays and a game plan that reflects that fact.