Patterson as running back

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Ok as a temp solution. I am hoping this means michel will be back next week or soon after and burkhead comes back at some point too otherwise theyd have made a move. Having just one real ball carrier is not enough and clearly they dont trust barner enough to do anything, carry or return punts.

 

[maineman209]

clearly they dont trust barner enough to do anything, carry or return punts.

I wouldn't make that assumption.

Aside from being a healthy scratch his first week with the team (wk-2), Barner has gotten carries in every game for which he's been available, including 10/36 against the Bears after Sony was injured. The Pats have used Barner more in 4 games this season than Philly did all of last season, and he's been performing slightly better than he did with Philly.

 

[NashuaPats]

Admirable effort, but he's not a RB. We need Sony to be healthy and for Burkhead to return. If one of those two don't happen, we need to find another between the tackles RB.

 

[Coolade2]

he runs way to high.

You mean like Gordon..? Or Eric ****erson..

 

[Soliel]

I thought he did ok, he just isn’t a running back

 

[PatsFan2]

Burn baby burn those pages in the Pats Playbook enough is enough.

 

[PatsFan2]

I thought he did ok, he just isn’t a running back

He's not much of a WR either a yard pass the LOS. Above average player behind it though.

 

[Soliel]

He's not much of a WR either a yard pass the LOS. Above average player behind it though.

Lol I know. Good at kickoffs but beyond that?

 

[PatsFan2]

Lol I still can't get over Patterson deficiencies as a WR. He passes the eyeballs test and everything.

 

[Soliel]

That is weird, his measurables are awesome but he just can’t get it together.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I wouldn't make that assumption.

Aside from being a healthy scratch his first week with the team (wk-2), Barner has gotten carries in every game for which he's been available, including 10/36 against the Bears after Sony was injured. The Pats have used Barner more in 4 games this season than Philly did all of last season, and he's been performing slightly better than he did with Philly.

Thats what i thought coming into yesterday and i liked how he ran, but then they went with a wr over him as the primary carrier. It is possible bb felt it was a good game to experiment with cordarelle but that is a little concerning that last night of all games barner only got one carry.

 

[maineman209]

Although i hate how predictable we get when he gets on the field.

It seems to me that Patterson's success in running the ball out of the backfield last night, modest as that success was, just made the Pats' offense a bit less predictable when he's on the field.

 

[PatsFan2]

Neither White or Barner have the power to run it in from the Five without some sort of trickery. If BB went with Patterson over you at RB I think Barners bags are still packed.

 

[Triumph]

I believe that Patterson could have made that 50 yarder that Gost missed.

Move him around I say.

 

[maineman209]

Good NFL defenses rarely allow a hole that you can drive a truck through.

The Pats' run-blocking appears to have been making such holes fairly frequently this season. Even last night, there were sizable cutback lanes available to Patterson that he simply didn't see - lanes that Michel and White, and even Barner, would have seen and exploited. I think Patterson can learn to find and exploit them, although I highly doubt that his usage last night was any kind of indication that McD intends to use him out of the backfield on a regular basis.

However, I think McD demonstrated his own willingness to do so, and that Patterson demonstrated that he's not terrible. Gives opposing DCs yet another tweak to account for (and be fooled by).

 

[Soliel]

Neither White or Barner have the power to run it in from the Five without some sort of trickery. If BB went with Patterson over you at RB I think Barners bags are still packed.

No kidding, I wonder what they thought of that.

 

[Soliel]

I believe that Patterson could have made that 50 yarder that Gost missed.

Move him around I say.

If he were left footed. We could have him punt too

 

[maineman209]

Patterson is not a running back. At best he's a guy who you can use to ambush another team with a surprise carry. He's strong and quick, and I've loved his ability to run after the catch, but being a regular rotation at running back is a whole nother animal than outsmarting the secondary to add another 4-5 yards to a catch, which is where Patterson's strength lies

Honestly if I wanted to convert one Pats receiver into a RB my first choice is Julian Edelman. He has the mentality, attitude and physical strength to play a role similar to the one James White currently plays.

I don't think the Pats intend to "convert" Patterson into a regular-use RB. OTOH, with a little more practice and experience, he can probably be good enough to be the #5/emergency depth RB (i.e., Bolden's role).

 

[maineman209]

Thats what i thought coming into yesterday and i liked how he ran, but then they went with a wr over him as the primary carrier. It is possible bb felt it was a good game to experiment with cordarelle but that is a little concerning that last night of all games barner only got one carry.

Barner had two, for four yards, on 7 total snaps. Patterson had only 13 snaps, and carried the ball on 10 of those. Patterson wasn't targeted in the passing game at all.

I really do believe that it was an experiment to see if Patterson was good enough out of the backfield to be a reserve RB, and good enough to be used there effectively as a misdirect in some future game.

It's maybe an indicator of how confident BB, McD and Brady are with this offense overall now that they were willing to experiment against a pretty decent Bills defense. And not add another RB.

 

[Simpelton]

I don't think the Pats intend to "convert" Patterson into a regular-use RB. OTOH, with a little more practice and experience, he can probably be good enough to be the #5/emergency depth RB (i.e., Bolden's role).

He's a pretty good YAC receiver, I can understand why they're trying him in this role. Patterson has impressed me in the intermediate role that used to be Chris Hogan's spot. Patterson does what Hogan does a little better than Hogan does it IMHO. He's a keeper, especially because he's also a good special teamer.