Running the Gamut: New Patriots RBs Set Up Interesting Decisions

Terry Allen. No, Raymont Harris. No, J.R. Redmond.

It’s great that Adrian Klemm was there at 46, but fans seem to be more pumped and jacked over a seventh round pick named Patrick Pass.

And don’t forget that the Bills released someone by the name of Gash.

You can just hear Jed Clampett belt out one of his “Waaaaaaay, dawgies!” About the only sure thing about the Patriot backfield this year is that whoever winds up as the featured back won’t be advising Bob Kraft to move the team to San Antonio.

In their never-ending search for The Man Who Would Be Curtis Martin, the Patriots did a little running back shopping in the draft last Saturday which yielded two very intriguing prospects. One of them was rated near the top of many draft boards at his position, and surprised a few by slipping to the third round. The other is perhaps more famous for the school he went to and his older kith and kin who graduated before him.

What is even more intriguing is trying to figure out how these men fit into Bill Belichick’s way of thinking for the Patriot running game. What we have here is a situation of new young bucks meeting old injured war horses. The result is anyone’s guess, but it’s a fair thing to say that, given an improvement in run blocking, the Patriots may present NFL defenses with something more than a pitiful popgun attack that makes you pine for Sedrick Shaw.

Naturally, question marks abound, and there is no guarantee that this new blend of Patriot running backs will electrify anyone in particular. But the makeup of the bunch is worth perusing through, and trying on our own to figure out what we got.

Unless the Patriots manage to pull off a major coup and induce Sam Gash to return to a Pete Carroll-less Foxborough, the fullbacks will stay the same at Tony Carter and Chris Floyd. If Gash returned, Carter most certainly would be the casualty. Gash might come back if the price was right, but that’s a debate for another day.

The halfback position is what bears the brunt of the scrutiny. You have vets coming off injuries such as Harris, Derrick Cullors, Kevin Faulk, and Robert Edwards. We say Edwards because of his brutal and fierce training regimen which could turn out to be the football equal of Steve Palermo umpiring again someday. Edwards is not likely to reappear in 2000, but the other aforementioned gents are nursing owies from 1999 and prior.

Redmond and Pass would mix in with this crowd and vie for presumably four spots for the final fall roster. These five guys (leaving Edwards out) would be added with Harold Shaw (oh yeah, you remember this guy) and be the competitors for the running back slots. Shaw can be either a halfback or a fullback, but for this discussion he will be classified as a halfback.

Allen was let go for Harris, in what amounts to be sort of a lateral swap financially. Harris seems to fit a more “power” style of running back, which seems to jibe with Belichick’s offensive philosophy. Redmond is about 15 pounds lighter than Harris, and is more of a cut back runner than Harris. In reality, Redmond seems more like a younger Allen than a compliment to Harris.

Reports also surfaced regarding Redmond’s health. There was talk that Redmond had kidney problems, but Belichick insisted that doctors had examined Redmond and found nothing wrong.

One of these two men figure to be the “featured” back for New England. But which one? A lot depends upon how well Harris has recovered from his broken leg, and how much seasoning the young Redmond would need before he feels totally comfortable in an NFL offense.

Then there’s Faulk. If Redmond and Harris occupy most of the carries for the Patriots, Faulk’s role may be reduced to kickoffs and third downs. And if Faulk becomes the top third down back, Cullors becomes expendable.

Faulk, despite his injury last year, showed flashes of greatness. Another scenario could be Faulk as the featured third down back and Redmond as a kick returner (something he has done in the past). Harris could wind up as the workhorse, with Redmond and Faulk fighting it out for third down/kickoff chores.

Now, to Pass. And we don’t mean what Drew Bledsoe does so well.

Pass was the final draftee of the Patriots. What got everyone tweaked right away was the fact that Pass played his college ball at Georgia. Immediately, everyone closed their eyes and began to think of two bucking Broncos named Terrell Davis and Olandis Gary. Good thing dreaming isn’t illegal.

Davis and Gary are why everyone is so high on Pass. If those two guys can have limited roles at UGA and excel in the pros, why then can’t this guy Pass be just the same? The knock on Pass is that he is a poor inside runner who tends to run out of bounds. Pass was not listed among the top 16 halfbacks in The Sporting News.

Belichick will try and see if Pass can be primped up like Davis and Gary were. Failing that, Cullors or Shaw will stick around for at least one more year.

If Vegas made book on the Patriot backfield, right now you might go with Harris, Redmond, Faulk and Cullors as the four H-backs. You’d have to make Pass take Cullors’ job away from him. It’s doubtful if Shaw will. And it is equally doubtful if Shaw would unseat Floyd in the backup fullback slot if there is no room for him at H-back.

Training camp will answer most of these questions, naturally. What exactly will Redmond’s role be? Might Cullors fall into the kickoff mix that Redmond and Faulk will occupy? Is this it for Cullors and Shaw? Will Harris be the power runner Belichick covets?

Patriot fans will also be tuned closely to Gash. The Patriots have made no official overtures in re-acquiring the brilliant blocking back. You may hear something after June 1st, and bringing Gash back in favor of Carter would right a tremendous wrong. Carter’s pass catching acumen pales to the super blocking ability of Gash (who also isn’t bad at catching the ball).

Unless there comes a player out there too good to pass up (a Gash-esque halfback, for instance), this is pretty much how the running back situation will unfold for the Patriots in 2000. The Patriots were fortunate to get Redmond in round 3 when most folks thought Belichick would grab him at 46.

You might change “fortunate” to “blessed” if Edwards makes it all the way back. Hop back on that bicycle, Robert, and keep up the good work.

About Bob George

Covering Boston Sports since 1997. Native of Worcester, Mass. Attended UMass and Univ of Michigan. Lives in California. Just recently retired after 40 years of public school teaching. Podcasts on YouTube at @thepic4139

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