Running mates would help

Patriots' backfield in a rush to assist

Laurence Maroney has the football at practice and isn't willing to give it up, at least to teammate Kevin Faulk during a drill aimed at preventing fumbling. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)

FOXBOROUGH - Embedded in Matt Cassel's memory from the last time he started a meaningful football game, way back on Nov. 24, 1999, when he quarterbacked Chatsworth High against Palisades Charter High in the third round of the Los Angeles City Invitational playoffs, is that he was at the helm of an offense that was able to run the ball.

"I think we played well, but we rushed the ball better," said Cassel.

If Cassel is to be successful in his first NFL regular-season start Sunday at Giants Stadium against the New York Jets, then the backup-turned-Tom Brady-stand-in will need the Patriots' offense to go back to the future and support him with a strong ground game.

That's what New England did last Sunday, when Cassel was summoned in relief after Brady suffered a season-ending left knee injury (torn ACL and MCL) in the first quarter. Eleven of the 15 plays the Patriots ran with Brady in the game were passes. With Cassel at the controls, New England called 20 passing plays, including two that resulted in sacks, and ran the ball 24 times.

Sammy Morris (10 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown) and Laurence Maroney (10 carries for 51 yards) combined for 20 rushes for 104 yards. The Patriots averaged 4.5 yards per rush (28 carries for 126 yards).

"Yeah, I mean, I think it's always important to establish the run," said Morris. "I don't think it's necessarily any more so because we have a different quarterback back there. I think getting the run going is something that always helps your offense out."

The Jets' defense poses a stiffer challenge than Palisades or the Chiefs, especially with New York adding the most important piece to its 3-4 scheme, a sturdy nose tackle. Jets coach Eric Mangini knows the value of a space-eater to defend the run, so he acquired 6-foot-4-inch, 349-pound Kris Jenkins from the Carolina Panthers for third-round and fifth-round picks.

The benefits were immediate for the Jets, who held the Miami Dolphins and Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown to 17 rushes for 49 yards in a 20-14 victory in their season opener.

"I think Kris is a big, powerful guy in there. He's a hard guy [to play against]," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said earlier this week. "You can't move him. You just have to try to place him somewhere where he can't affect the play. But he's also a guy that they stunt some, penetrate with, and when he gets moving in one direction, he is a hard guy to stop."

With Jenkins, the Jets leave fewer and smaller holes to run through, but that is where the Patriots' depth at running back, which is augmented by the return of Kevin Faulk from a one-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy during the offseason, comes into play.

When holes shrink fast, you need fresh legs to burst through them faster. The Patriots have no shortage of capable ball carriers with Maroney, Morris, LaMont Jordan, and Faulk.

"I definitely think that is one of the biggest factors in using more than one back, especially come the fourth quarter when we're trying to pound the ball and try to keep all the guys relatively fresh," Morris said. "Relative being the key word."

Maroney said he noticed the difference last Sunday against the Chiefs.

"I feel like it's still the beginning of the game," said Maroney. "We have me, Kev, LaMont, Sammy, it's definitely going to be a nice rotation going on."

However, Mangini is too smart to let the Patriots run the ball at will. At some point, he's going to force Cassel to beat him, and try to pressure him with exotic blitzes. Then the onus will be on the backs to come to Cassel's aid in other ways. Catching the ball out of the backfield and pass protection will be priorities.

Nobody knows that better than Morris, who was blocking Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard - putting him face down in the Gillette Stadium FieldTurf - when Pollard lunged at Brady's leg.

"That's not just [important] this week, pass protection is any week," said Morris. "If the quarterback has guys in his face, it's never good, so the emphasis is always to protect the quarterback."

Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels might use the running backs flanked out wide or out of the backfield to create mismatches and quick, short throws. Morris, Jordan, Faulk, and fullback Heath Evans are excellent catching the ball out of the backfield, and Maroney has shown the ability to take a dump-off and turn it into a big gain.

Those plays go into the books as passes, but they're basically glorified runs. So, if the Jets are willing to surrender underneath passes to the running backs, the Patriots will throw the ball as much as they can.

"Yeah, I think that one thing we've done around here is just take what the game gives us," said Morris. "If that's throwing 40 times, that's throwing 40 times; if it's running the ball 40 times, then it's running it. I think we prepare for both and take what the game gives us."

With a little help from the running game and his running backs, Cassel could make his next start better than his last in the one area that really counts - the final score. Chatsworth lost that playoff game to Palisades, 49-42.

That's one memory Cassel can't run from.

Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com.