What's the story on Gillislee and his short stay with the Pats if you don't mind me asking. He started out last season doing a pretty solid job with lots of TD's, then I read he was inactive for 7 games and all of the post-season also. Were they healthy inactives or did he have an injury? What type of runner should we expect.
If the blocking can open a fairly obvious hole right in front of him, Gillislee will usually scoot through it for at least the yardage required for the down-and-distance situation but not often for much more than that. If his best running lane is
not obvious (to him), he usually can't find it and/or guesses wrong (not great vision). He also too often fails to follow his lead blocker through congestion at the LoS, and sometimes attempts cutbacks that are doomed from the start.
He doesn't seem to be able to generate the power, nor does he seem to have the balance or footwork, to gain much after first contact, much less break tackles. IOW, if he gets more than about 8 yards on any given carry, it's because someone on the defense seriously effed-up.
Gillislee was decent enough during the first half of the 2017 season, while the Pats were gradually increasing Lewis' workload (and while Burkhead was out for games #3-#6 with a rib injury). He gained adequate+ yardage on plays that were designed for him and well-executed by the blocking. In fact, he was among the leading RBs in terms of consistency in gaining the yardage required by the down and distance situation (success rate).
However, once Lewis hit his stride (around game #6) and Burkhead returned from injury in game #7, Gillislee became the 4th option at RB (superfluous). He was a healthy inactive during the second half of the season (after the Pats BYE) until another couple RB injuries cropped up in weeks 16 and 17.
