FOXBORO — Fred Taylor is up for a challenge.
The 33-year-old running back was asked Monday if he could handle 20 to 25 carries the rest of the season for the Patriots. While he acknowledged the need to pace himself, he certainly sounded like a man who could warm to such a plan.
“Whatever it takes,” he said. “Honestly, I’ve always said I just want to play until the wheels fall off, but I understand how long the season is. Being that this is my 12th year, I understand how important it is to take care of your body — the maintenance, the massage, the chiropractor, acupuncture. Whatever you need, you want to make sure you’re healthy by the next game. I understand all of that.
“Whether I can handle it or not, I’m prepared to. I should say that — I’m prepared to. We’ll just see how it goes as the season progresses.”
Taylor’s performance on Sunday against the Falcons has sparked a debate as to whether or not the Patriots should abandoned their backfield-by-committee approach (Taylor, Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris and BenJarvus Green-Ellis) and commit to a single, No. 1 back the rest of the way. The former Jacksonville star, in his first season with the Patriots, ran for 105 yards on 21 carries and added a touchdown in the 26-10 win over Atlanta.
Much of Taylor’s increased workload on Sunday could be tied to the idea that Maroney was sidelined with a thigh injury in the second quarter, but prior to the Falcons game, he was the leading rusher for New England in a Week Two loss to the Jets (he finished with 46 yards on eight carries, an impressive average of 5.8 yards per carry). Overall, through three games, Taylor has 176 yards on 38 carries, more than the combined yardage of Maroney and Morris in the same stretch (92 yards).
“Fred’s run hard for us all year — in preseason, in all the camps, training camp, and all that. He runs hard and he runs smart. He knows where the holes are, he sets up blockers well and he can carry the load,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said after Sunday’s game. “Fred did a great job.”
But could Taylor sustain that pace the rest of the way? That seems debatable. If he had 20 carries a game the rest of the way, that would give him 298 carries for the season, the second-highest total of his career. Running backs who are older than 30 traditionally are not able to handle such a workload. And while he has been durable thus far for the Patriots, Taylor has been dogged by injury several times over the course of his career, making the prospect of a 300-carry season highly unlikely.
However, Taylor fits in well as a complimentary back, someone sharing the majority of carries with Maroney. It appears that Morris is now slated to serve in a fullback/short-yardage role (remember, he was the one the Patriots’ asked to pick up two yards on that key fourth down in the second half against the Falcons), while Faulk will be a third-down option out of the backfield and Green-Ellis will provide depth.
It’s a group Taylor is more than happy to lean on, especially when the Patriots are on long scoring drives. Four of New England’s six scoring drives went at least 12 plays on Sunday, a process that Taylor confessed with a laugh can be “tiresome.”
“Extremely,” he said with a smile. “The good thing is we’ve got a lot of good running backs that can do a lot of good things and you don’t hesitate to call one of those guys in. Being that we’re all experienced, the offense won’t lose a beat.”
RSS Center
