Pats Win, but Run Defense remains a Major Concern
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| Scott Halleran/ Getty Images |
However, all is not well in Patriot land. One week after letting Knowshon Moreno go off for 224 yards and a touchdown on the ground, the Pats defense made Ben Tate (he of the four cracked ribs) look like Jim Brown for an encore.
Tate was coming off of a dismal 7 carry, 1 yard performance against Jacksonville last week that led to speculation that third stringer Dennis Johnson might start cutting into Tate's carries. Instead Tate got off to a hot start and rolled throughout the game, gashing the Patriots defense for big chunks all day en route to a 102 yard, 3 touchdown day.
The Patriots run defense has been an issue most of the season. Season ending injuries to LB Jerod Mayo and DTs Vince Wilfork and Tommy Kelly have gutted the middle of their defense. They have been replaced by the likes of Chris Jones, Joe Vellano and Donta' Hightower, who have been unable to match the production of their more heralded peers.
This is what makes these struggles against the run so concerning. This is largely an issue of personnel, not scheme. A two deep shell coverage and heavy use of nickel might have inflated Moreno's eye-popping numbers, but the struggles against the run have been an issue most of the season.
The Patriots headed into the Houston game ranked 31st in the league against the run, only behind Chicago. Amazingly, Houston's 121 yards (on 4.3 yards a carry) are actually lower than the Pats season averages of 139.7 yards and 4.5 yards a carry surrendered a game.
Furthermore, Pats fans should be concerned that there are no obvious in-house options for improvement. Midseason acquisition Isaac Sopoaga has had minimal impact, to the point that recent practice squad promotion Sealver Siliga seemed to be cutting into some of his snaps Sunday. Those two represent the only backups to the aforementioned Vellano and Jones, who have played hard but lack the bulk to hold up at the point of attack.
The issues at defensive tackle could be minimized by better linebacker play, but the linebackers have also struggled in Mayo's absence. Donta' Hightower simply hasn't had the impact expected from him as a first round pick last year. Hightower inexplicably hasn't been able to throw his 270 pound frame around to make an impact against the run. After another lackluster performance today, I wouldn't be surprised to see veteran Dane Fletcher take Hightower's snaps going forward.
The harsh reality is that this run defense has been a major Achilles heel of this team all season and that isn't changing any time soon. Simply put, the offense will likely have to outscore opponents (as they had to today) for this team to continue to win going forward.
