Only a handful of NFL teams that still use a fullback. And the New England Patriots are one of them.
Bill Belichick arguably values the position more than any head coach in the NFL. He has carried James Develin on the roster full-time since 2013 and did spend part of the 2012 season the team and their practice squad.
Develin has been sidelined for most of this season with a neck injury. But in recent weeks, it finally seems like the Patriots have found a way to replace him after struggling to do so for most of the year.
And being able to use a fullback could come in handy if they want to make a postseason run.
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On the latest episode of Tom Curran's Patriots Talk Podcast, Curran was joined by former Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel and they discussed a number of topics. But one of them was what could help the Patriots to find a way to win the in the postseason.
Instead of focusing on a specific player, Cassel was focused on the Patriots running out of 21 personnel, a formation that includes a running back, fullback, and tight end, and (usually) two wide receivers. As Cassel explained, that formation can give defenses some serious trouble.
When you do that, what happens to most defenses - it simplifies their playbook. So they're not as elaborate. And they're not as sophisticated in terms of personnel. They're usually not in nickel or dime. They don't dial up the exotic blitzes and all that stuff because they can't. They're in base defense. They're either in a 3-4, which means three bigs and four linebackers, or they're in a 4-3, four down linemen and three linebackers. It just depends on the type of scheme that they come from.
When you do that, they usually have a much smaller window, or much smaller array, of different defenses they run.
And as Cassel would go onto explain, by forcing defenses to use simpler formations, it's easier to scheme to beat them, especially from the slot and off play-action.
This theory would make sense. One of the reasons that the Patriots offense has sputtered at times this season is that they were operating at less than 100 percent and at times were limited to just one formation.
But with the emergence of converted linebacker Elandon Roberts as a solid fullback, their offense has played much better. And if they can keep operating well out of 21 personnel as Cassel suggests, perhaps that will lead the unit to a better than expected performance in the postseason.
For more on the Patriots' upcoming matchup with the Miami Dolphins, their chances in the postseason, and which receiver needs to step up the most in January, check out the latest episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast, which drops every Tuesday and Thursday as a part of the NBC Sports Boston podcast network.
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December 27, 2019 at 06:38AM
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Patriots Talk Podcast: Could this formation be a playoff key? - NBCSports.com
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