Well, it was another relatively easy victory for the Patriots despite defensive struggles in the first half. It was good to see the defense, specifically the secondary, rebound a bit in the second half, as they were able to do just enough for the Patriots to coast through the majority of the fourth quarter, giving Brady and Edelman a victorious homecoming.
Brady had another great day, throwing for 280 yards and four touchdowns, but the rushing attack stole the show in my opinion. The Patriots rushed for their highest yards per carry total on the season, averaging 5.7 YPC, and racked up their second-highest yardage total on the ground of the year. A large part of that success was the play of James Develin, who played a season-high 34 snaps and constantly carved out lanes for LeGarrette Blount to run through on the way to his second-highest rushing total thus far in 2016.
Develin is criminally underrated, and rarely, if ever, receives the credit he deserves for the success the Patriots have experienced this year running the football. On Sunday, as I mentioned, Develin totaled 34 snaps, nearly 50% of available snaps, also a season high. Sure, the 49ers rank dead-last in rushing yards and yards per carry allowed on the season, but the success the Patriots had on the ground can be credited more to the tremendous work done by Develin and the offensive line and less to the deficiencies of the Niners defense.
Currently, the Patriots rank 6th in both rushing yards on the season and rushing yards per game, and Blount is also 6th in rushing yards out of all running backs this year. Develin averages 17 snaps a game, with about 98% of those snaps coming as the fullback in the I formation in front of Blount.
A great example of Develin’s impact on Blount and the run game was on Blount’s 44 yard run on the first play of the second drive of the game. Develin engages the blitzing linebacker, walling him off and allowing Blount to make one simple cut at the line to find a gap big enough to let him to rumble for a 44 yard gain.
Two more great examples of Develin’s ability to create holes at the line of scrimmage occur on the Patriots final drive of the game, when there simply trying to kill the rest of the clock. Once again, Develin seals off the linebacker, creating a hole large enough for Blount to squeeze through and get downfield.
The final example occurs on the very next play, where Develin and Cannon team to open a big enough to allow Blount to run through and make a man miss downfield on a seven-yard gain.
Blount excels in plays like this, where he is given a big enough lane to run through by Develin and the offensive line and can go up against linebackers and safeties 1 on 1 in open space. Both of the plays above show Blount making a great cut about six or seven yards down the field, blowing by the defender trying to bring home down to run for extra yardage.
Where Blount (and most runner for that matter) struggles is when he is asked to beat a couple guys at the line of scrimmage, because he has a hard time making guys miss in a “phone-booth” type space. This is where shiftier running backs like Leveon Bell and Blount’s teammate Dion Lewis excel; they can make use a cut or two to break out of a tight situation and gain positive yardage. Blount is not like that, and needs someone like Develin to plow ahead of him and create lanes for him to run through, so that he can get to the second level and either simply bowl through a defender or make someone miss in the open field as we saw in the past three plays.
Blount has had a tremendous season to date, but without the work of Develin clearing holes in front of him, he certainly would not be experiencing the level of success he has enjoyed thus far in 2016. Develin is a key cog in the Patriots offense, and it is time to start giving him the attention he deserves, because after all, fullback lives matter too!