[sportscurmudgeon]

Ramseyfan:

Here's my opinion on the question you asked:

Patten was one option among a wide variety of options with the Pats for the past couple of years where all of the options had quality players manning the positions. It was hard to double up any single player on the Pats because they had such a variety of weapons. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, the Pats used all of the weapons they had. Tom Brady - and Charlie Weis as the playcaller - made sure that every offensive weapon got plenty of usage just to make sure that the defensive coordinator didn't "load up" on anything and take it away from them.

Even the Pats running game was more suited to setting up the pass than the Skins' running game is. I'm not demeaning Portis, but Corey Dillon is mainly an inside runner who is not nearly as likely to break a 70-yard gain as is Portis. So, if Dillon was running well, the only way to adjust to that was to pack the box - opening things up outside. With Portis, you pack the box at your own risk because then you might allow him to break a big one outside. So, defenses against the Skins tend to play "wider" than did defenses against the Pats.

In the current offensive scheme, the first WR option is virutally always Santana Moss. Then the QB will look for a TE or the running back as a safety valve. Patten is there for "spot-duty" or for those times when options 1 and 2 are covered and the QB has time to find option 3. Given the porosity of the offensive line for much of this year, the QB rarely has the time to think about option 3 let alone have the opportuity to find him.

Remember, you asked...