And when the season was on the line, and the Jets dared you to run the ball, you couldn't do it.
Well, the Pats
could run the ball, but there was a cost involved.
Just to be clear, I think BGE is a fine, straight-ahead, one-cut runner with very good vision for the developing hole and the decisiveness to hit it with good timing. He runs squared up, with very good pad-level and better than average low-gear power, and he plays with exceptional ball-security. In short, a near perfect between the tackles guy.
However, he doesn't have the speed to get around the end more than once in awhile. He doesn't really have a second cut to escape the LB level or the extra gear to do much when he does escape. Most important, he doesn't get very deep into the LB level without a dedicated blocker - a TE (Crumpler, mostly) or a FB (Morris).
And that's the cost. In order for BGE to run effectively with any consistency, the Pats have to take one of their more effective pass-catchers off the field. Because the Jets, with their strong D-line, knew that the Pats couldn't run effectively with any consistency out of, say, a 4-WR/1-RB set, they could afford to keep 7-8 guys in coverage (5-6 of them between the numbers in the short/intermediate areas where virtually all of our pass-catchers do their best work). When the Pats took a pass-catcher off the field for the extra blocker, the Jets simply cheated up with a safety and/or LB and could afford to do so since there was at least one less target to cover.
In short, without a between the tackles RB who is a legit threat to break off several good runs on his own even without extra blocking help, and without any pass-catchers who can work the sidelines
and deep zones effectively with any consistency, the Pats offense can be thoroughly stymied by a well-executed defense that has decent coverage LBs.