New England Patriots: Dealer’s Choice at Running Back
Oct 26, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots running back Jonas Gray (35) carries the ball between Chicago Bears defensive end Lamarr Houston (99) and middle linebacker D.J. Williams (58) during the first half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Jonas Gray (2014: 89 carries, 412 yards, 5 touchdowns)
November 16th, 2014 will be a night Jonas Gray never forgets. He’ll be looking to add a few more memorable performances to his resume with a fresh start in 2015. After torching the Colts for 201 yards and 4 touchdowns on Sunday Night Football, Gray was the talk of the town. That quickly changed after he overslept for a team meeting and found himself in the dark abyss that is Bill Belichick’s doghouse.
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Gray essentially vanished after that performance, receiving only 3 carries over the next month and only 24 carries over the rest of the regular and post-season. He is truly a wild card at this point – his performance against the Colts was impressive, but I think I could probably pick up 50 yards and a touchdown against that sieve of a defense. While Gray did have solid games against the Bears and Dolphins, he is well-behind Blount on the depth chart.
The opportunity is there for Gray, however, with Blount suspended for the opening game against the Steelers. In order to steal carries from Blount, Gray will need to continue to do what he does best – find the end zone. Inside the 10 yard line, where running room is scarce, Gray was able to turn 14 of his 15 carries into either a touchdown or first down while maintaining a respectable 2.9 yards per carry average.
While this is admittedly a small sample size, his numbers compare well against other top running backs. DeMarco Murray, for example, only had a 1.4 yards per carry average inside the 10 yard line, and only 21 of his 29 carries resulted in either a touchdown or first down. Arian Foster only had one less attempt than Gray in the same situation, and was only able to produce a 1.9 yards per carry average and 11 touchdowns/first downs. If Gray continues to excel inside the 10 yard line, he could carve out a nice niche as a goal-line back.
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