Through eight weeks, the New England Patriots offense ranks eighth in the league averaging 26.6 points per game. That hasn’t, however, largely been due to their rushing attack.
While things have trended
in a positive direction the last two weeks, New England currently resides 31st in EPA/rush and 30th in rushing success rate.
With room to grow on the ground, many believe an external addition could be made prior to the trade deadline to help improve the production. That group of believers does not include offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
“I think we have all the answers we need,” McDaniels said Thursday. “Once training camp starts you don’t count on anything outside of what you have in the locker room and you really don’t need anything outside of what you have. We’ve spent all the time we had trying to figure out how to put our players that are here in great positions. The guys know exactly how we want to try to play. I think different parts of our offense progress at different rates.”
McDaniels pointed towards the running game, red zone plus third down offense, and the deep passing game as areas that can continue to grow.
“Each one of them is at a different point right now,” he explained. “We’re not even halfway through the season and I think there’s still a lot of improvements to be made for us. I know that’s what we’re focused on — and we have the guys.”
Injuries could force New England to make a move either way. After losing Antonio Gibson earlier this year to a torn ACL, Rhamondre Stevenson has now been sidelined for a pair of practices this week with a toe injury.
That leaves just rookie TreVeyon Henderson and Terrell Jennings, who was signed from the practice squad Wednesday, as the lone healthy options on the active roster — with Henderson coming off a career-best performance in which he ran for 75 yards on 10 carries in a win over the Browns.
“I thought he made some really good runs,” McDaniels said of the performance. “It wasn’t just run around the corner and nobody there. I thought he had to make some nice cuts. I thought the guys were really blocking well in space out there and straining to try to finish plays longer than he was. We talk about playing longer than the guy with the ball. So, I thought there were a lot of blocks being made in space down the field that helped him do that, and I thought he fought through some contact. Excited to see him build on that and continue to grow.”
The Patriots have since added running backs D’Ernest Johnson, Jonathan Ward, and Rushawn Baker to the practice squad this week. The NFL trade deadline is set for Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 4:00 p.m.
