An easy guess of running back LeGarrette Blount's role on the team can be based on his size. He's built like a linebacker at 6'1, 245 lbs. Therefore, he must be a powerback, right? And powerbacks must be great in short yardage.
So Blount must be an awesome short yardage running back.
We've already debunked that notion as he ranks in the bottom 20% of the league in short yardage plays (with 1-2 yards needed).
Prior to joining the Patriots, he toted the rock 37 times for 80 yards, or a 2.16 yards per carry rate- still in the bottom 20% of the league, but on par with backs like Marshawn Lynch, Donald Brown, and Zack Crockett.
There was some hope that the Patriots could tap into Blount's potential and develop him into using his size how everyone had hoped; he could be a bruiser and a punishing runner. He's certainly played that role late in games and he has developed his role on the team.
That said, he's absolutely not improved in short yardage situations. In fact, it's gotten worse. With the Patriots, he's received 12 carries for 16 yards. That's 1.33 yards per carry, almost a full yard less than what he had been gained before. That rate would rank in the bottom five percent of the past decade, with the likes of Trent Richardson, Chris Perry, J.P. Losman, and Kurt Warner.
Blount's still standing out on the whole; his 4.87 yards per carry in non-short-yardage plays ranks right behind LeSean McCoy's 4.9 and right above Reggie Bush's 4.84, comfortably in the top 20% of the league. But asking for any further improvement in his short game might be asking him for the wrong answers.