Patriots Coffee Talk 2/22: Is BenJarvus Green-Ellis the Running Back of the Future?

by Greg Knopping on Feb 22, 2011 6:00 AM EST in New England Patriots News

Welcome to Patriots Coffee Talk! This is going to be an experimental feature that will go up each weekday morning at 6:00 AM. Topics will have a wide range, but will bring up relevant Patriots issues and its goal will be to spark debate. So yap away!

Today's question will once again be pretty straight forward. As you probably know, the Patriots have undergone a lot of turnover at the running back position in the past year or so. 2009 starting running back Laurence Maroney was traded at the start of the season, and the projected 2010 starter, Fred Taylor, was injured just two weeks into the season.

This left 2008 undrafted free agent BenJarvus Green-Ellis as the team's primary running back. Green-Ellis, who is also known by 'Benny,' 'BGJE,' or the 'Law Firm,' surpassed the 1,000 yard mark on the year, rushing for 13 touchdowns with a 4.4 yard per carry average. Based on statistics alone, Green-Ellis had the most productive season for a Patriots running back since Corey Dillon in 2004.

Personally, I'm a fan of Green-Ellis' style. He doesn't have top-end speed or athleticism, but he does the dirty work and gets the job done. He keep his pad level low, finds the hole quickly without hesitating, and drives his legs to pick up the extra yards.

Green-Ellis, based on the pre-2010 CBA rules, would be a restricted free agent this offseason. My guess is that the Patriots would place a 1st round tender on him. For today's coffee talk, the question is simple: is BenJarvus Green-Ellis the Patriots' running back of the future? Will he be the Patriots' future back beyond 2011?

Poll

Is BenJarvus Green-Ellis the Patriots running back of the future/?

Yes

281 votes

No

103 votes

Still Undecided

123 votes

507 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 16 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

IMO it's a tradeoff with BJGE

He doesn’t have top end speed so leaves some yardage on the field. On the other hand he is as reliable as they come with repect to his ball security and he rarely loses yardage on any of his carries. I personally would opt for the latter.

by Ashto12 on Feb 22, 2011 6:15 AM EST reply actions

green-ellis

he sure looks like he has all the tools and ability , and benefits from working with the veteran backs who have guided him along nicely. i.e. ..almost no fumbles is a sure sign of good coaching. i think he has a bright future in foxboro if he keeps working hard and avoids injury.

by mainemn on Feb 22, 2011 6:55 AM EST reply actions

He's serviceable.

Is he going to break one off from 50 yards? Only if Cromartie’s the guy in the way. But if it’s 3rd-and-3, he’s going to get the 3 yards.
I’d like to see Benny playing the role of the 1B back to someone else’s 1A. He likely doesn’t get the first carry or tops 15 carries per game, but if injuries hit (like 2010), he’s good enough to handle 20-25 carries for 4 weeks (or longer, like 2010).

"Perhaps it was the Noid who should have avoided me." Mayor Adam West

by insertscreenname on Feb 22, 2011 8:04 AM EST reply actions

This sounds ideal.

BJGE can be the Thomas Jones if the Patriots can find their Jamaal Charles.

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by Richard Hill on Feb 22, 2011 8:17 AM EST up reply actions

He's a tremendous complementary back - but they can use a feature back

Of course I have my opinions on who would be ideal for that but specific to Benny – I see a major issue with him being the offensive game plan in vs the Jets.

If he’s your guy, and you know he’s going to get you 3 when you need 3, why was he not used more. Between the original plan and the halftime adjustments Benny was a secondary piece of the offensive puzzle.

Much of that could be the defense they were playing against but I also believe that relates to who you have on your roster.

Benny is good, but not good enough to build a game plan around – I think the Pats can use a RB to build a plan around, or at least involve at higher levels of the plan.

by JonnyNYC on Feb 22, 2011 9:55 AM EST reply actions

If it's 3rd-and-8,

he’s going to get 3 yards.

I should have put a clarification in there.

"Perhaps it was the Noid who should have avoided me." Mayor Adam West

by insertscreenname on Feb 22, 2011 11:04 AM EST up reply actions

Give him a shot

The Pats know what they have in BJGE. He’s more Antowan Smith than Corey Dillon and that’s not the end of the world. If the team didn’t have other glaring needs or if he didn’t produce in the playoffs, this should be more of a hot topic. But he was running well vs. the Jets. I’m not sure why they went away from him.

Take a flyer in the late rounds on a RB but he got 1000 yds and wasn’t even the featured back to begin the season – as well as losing touches to Woohead later. Maybe he can produce even more next season. Give him a shot.

by iLikeStuff on Feb 22, 2011 10:31 AM EST reply actions

I say sign him on for 4 yrs

They haven’t had two more promising (with actual results) backs in a long while, since slow motion Corey D. Corey wasn’t a burner either. I remember many a play where Dillon was caught from behind by an LB, but he still got it done and went over 1000 yds. I say extend BJGE for 4 yrs, and draft a promising RB for the future. If the Dolphins don’t take Mr Heisman winner what’s his face, memory not working right now, maybe take him at 17. I would prefer one of the better OLB/DE prospects over him though, Houston preferably. I even think bringing back Sammy Morris for 2 more years would be worth it for low money. I think featuring Ellis and Woodhead would be wise for O’Brien, though. Those two are very good backs.

by Ozstryker on Feb 22, 2011 2:43 PM EST up reply actions

ask me after this next season lol

as of now he doesn’t have the game-breaking/changing ability the Patriots need

by pats4life on Feb 22, 2011 3:28 PM EST reply actions

Is that what they need?

The Patriots best seasons have all been with move-the-chains type backs (Antowain, Dillon, even LoMo in 2007 had very few big runs).

by mmmmm on Feb 22, 2011 3:56 PM EST up reply actions

even Dillon could be a game-changer

by pats4life on Feb 22, 2011 4:52 PM EST up reply actions

any good back can, when utilized correctly

is what you are after the ability to dictate the game or big plays? The two are not the same. They are not exclusive, but they are not the same.

Big rushing plays are often a function of the type of offense and defense that are on the field. They usually are generated when the defense plays close – ex. 8 in the box – such that if the back can break through or get around, there is no one in the backfield to bring him down.

The Patriots offense is so pass heavy that it is very rare that the defenses ever play close-in. Thus it is rare that the Pats running backs break through to find an empty defensive backfield.

I’m not saying I wouldn’t love a stud running back who could routinely beat the edge as well as pound it through the line. But I think that even if we had such, in this offense he’d still not make a lot of huge rushing plays.

The other factor for the Pats is that they’ll probably always use a 3rd down specialist back.

For the Pats, the best kind of 2-down back probably would be an Earl Campbell prototype. Big, strong and hard to bring down. Oh yeah, like wussisname fer CLE …. Peyton Hillis. Sigh …

by mmmmm on Feb 22, 2011 6:36 PM EST up reply actions

i say give him a new contract, he has been productive in the three seasons that he has been with new england, the first two seasons he didn’t get to play and on his third season got 10+ td’s and 1k+ yards which allowed the team to have a more diverse offense. sure he doesn’t have a break away speed but he will and does get the job done, he has great security of the ball which is what you have to worry about often. when he does not posses in speed woodhead has which make them both for a great 1,2 combo just as we had seen earlier and if in a 3& 8 he gets you only 3 then he at least got you 3 yards and didn’t lose yards and would you really run when you have brady at the helm?

by Eduardo Mercado on Feb 23, 2011 3:32 AM EST reply actions