Mac Jones isn’t the only player on offense who needs to get his groove back.
Rhamondre Stevenson is right behind him on the list of important players who need to fix what’s broke if the Patriots expect to get up off the mat.
Stevenson broke the 1000-yard threshold for the first time as a runner last season. Only, hasn’t looked anything like that player this season.
Through five games, he’s carried the ball 68 times for 188 yards. That’s a 2.8 yards per carry average. While his struggles haven’t been as well-documented as Jones, they’ve been noticeable nonetheless.
At least one former teammate checked in with Stevenson to see how he was doing.
Former Patriot great James White, who retired before last season, recently texted Stevenson to see how he was doing.
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The Patriots running back responded seeking White’s advice.
“He was asking me what are you seeing from the film?” White said, relaying the exchange during MassLive’s latest “Eye on Foxborough” podcast. “I was like, ‘Honestly, there’s not much there. Right now, the creases aren’t necessarily there. You just gotta kind of stay the course. When there’s just that little bit of an edge of a defender, you’ve gotta create you’re own yards right now.’”
Create your own, because the offensive line isn’t providing much help.
Basically, Stevenson was looking for some validation from White. He was hoping that it wasn’t all him. That the creases just weren’t there.
White was reassuring, but also didn’t necessarily let Stevenson off the hook.
“It’s hard as a running back when you don’t see those creases consistently. You start to lose a little bit of confidence,” said White. “You start to wonder if it’s you, if you’re not seeing things properly. But I think it’s a little bit of everybody, why the run game and Rhamondre haven’t been able to get going.”
The Patriots have had a makeshift offensive line throughout the season. With Cole Strange battling a knee injury, rookie Antonio Mafi has been at left guard. Meanwhile, right guard Michael Onwenu hasn’t played in every game, and in some games, only played in half to three-quarters of the game. Riley Reiff came on in relief last week, playing both left and right guard. And right tackle has seen both Calvin Anderson and Vederian Lowe.
Running backs need to be in sync with the linemen up front. They need to be able to read where the holes are supposed to be, and need to time exactly when to hit that hole. If the holes aren’t there, or the timing is off, you see performances like the ones we’ve seen from Stevenson and Zeke Elliott, who hasn’t fared much better (42 carries, 159 yards, 3.8 yards per carry).
“If the line can’t open up holes, or can’t get you one or two yards past the line of scrimmage at least more than half the time, it’s going to be hard for (Rhamondre) to look like he was last year, where he had those one-on-one situations, to be able to break those tackles,” said White. “If there’s no creases, it’s hard to make plays. No running back is creating his own hole every single play.
“But it’s not 100 percent on the offensive line. It’s not 100 percent on Rhamondre. The chemistry just hasn’t been there.”
Somehow, they have to find it. The Patriots offense is supposed to be predicated on the running attack. Stevenson and Elliott’s ineffectiveness on the ground has been crippling to Jones and the offense. Getting the run game going against Las Vegas, one of the better run defenses in the league, would certainly help the mission.
Thus far, with Stevenson and Elliott pretty much taking turns, it’s been hard for either one to get into any kind of rhythm. White agreed that Stevenson is a volume runner who needs carries to get into rhythm. But he wouldn’t use that as an excuse for Rhamondre’s plight.
“He’s definitely a volume runner. I’d say 90 percent of running backs are volume runners. The more we touch the football, the more we get into the game, the better feel we have for the defense. You kind of get your pads adjusted and get into the flow of the game,” said White. “It’s hard to do that sometimes when you’re rotating. But, I think they’re two talented backs. I think they should rotate. They both have a different running style.
“I just think it starts with the offensive line, them working in unison, them working together. Just giving him at least two or three yards before he gets touched on some carries and then he’s able to get to the second level, break an arm tackle from a linebacker, then get to the third level.”
Along with the line doing a better job opening creases, White thought it behooved Bill O’Brien to try and get Stevenson into space, whether it’s in the passing game, or with jet sweeps. That’s where he’s most effective. Last season, Stevenson caught 69 passes for 421 yards.
“I know they’ve been running plenty of screens and all that. But there’s different ways of getting the ball in his hands in the type of fashion just to get him going,” said White. “Because I think, he’s obviously one of the better players on the offense. And for him not to be that productive at this point is definitely something they need to find a way to get going.
“Once you get him in space that one-time, you make a defender miss, you run a guy over, then, it’s, ‘Alright, I got my swagger back a little bit.’ I think that’ll be huge for him.”
It’d be huge for the offense, too.
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