The Patriots' Laurence Maroney leads all rookies with 151 rushing yards this season. Damian Strohmeyer/SI

And who's to say that a defense that alternates its front four, and is just as sturdy and resolute as the guys who are trying to crack it, won't be just as tough at the end? Just look at what the Jaguars did to Pittsburgh. The Steelers had only one run longer than four yards all night, but they had to stay with it as long as they could, to protect a fragile quarterback.

I think it's fascinating the way the Patriots have changed their style, from Charlie Weis' short pass attack to a running game, to adjust to a shift in personnel. Can it be that this was something they planned before the draft, because they knew Deion Branch would be a contract problem and maybe they'd lose him and Tom Brady would need time to adjust to his new receivers?

It's scary to believe that they saw everything coming so far ahead of time, but I'll never know because they don't talk about such things. I mean you can ask them if they breathe air when they step outside and they'll respond, "If it helps our team."

But I saw what they did to the Jets last Sunday, and even with Brady having an off day, they controlled things with their ground game. Corey Dillon is running mad now. He's become a mean runner, probably because they drafted another back, Laurence Maroney, in the first round. At Minnesota Maroney was a guy who read the defense and reacted, as if he were on cruise control, a guy with good outside speed, but hardly much toughness. Now he's a slasher, inside or out, a quick thrust guy who can break tackles.

"Surprised me, too, that they took him," said a scout who's friendly with the Patriots' personnel people. "He really didn't seem like their type. But they told me after the draft, 'Just watch. He'll fit in. He just ran in college the way they wanted him to. He can do it our way.'"

I saw two things with that Patriot ground game, which looks like the best since Martin was on their team. Their left tackle Matt Light, smaller and less gifted athletically than some of the ballet masters who play the position, is one of the best drive blockers in the game at that position. Pass blocking? Well, I've seen him give up sacks, and they'll occasionally protect him with a tight end chipping on the rusher. But he gets a lot more thrust on that side than almost everyone else in the league at the position. And he's a guy who probably will never make a Pro Bowl squad.

The second thing I noticed was the quickness of New England's center, Dan Koppen.

"You can't have a decent running game in the NFL with a slow center," says a Patriots scout who actually did talk to me. "There are too many adjustments, too many quick things he has to do. Actually, most of the good running teams in the league have light lines. We're not that big up front. Neither are the Falcons or Broncos, two of the best running clubs.

"How do you tire out a defensive line? By getting 'em moving and chasing, and that's what these light lines are geared for. You can hog 'em with those big guys, and all the defensive lineman will do will be to drop to a knee and take the double-team. But make him run and he'll get tired."

You don't find the precision running games anymore, probably because in the free-agency era, offensive lines aren't together year after year like they used to be. I loved the intricate timing of the Giants' great power toss that carried them to their first Super Bowl victory in the 1986 season.

Joe Morris carrying behind the vicious down-blocks of Mark Bavaro, with Chris Godfrey pulling and Maurice Carthon leading. Man, it was beautiful. Then one day it was gone. I asked Bill Parcells about it.

"Yeah, I hated to lose it, too," he said. "But you can't coach it anymore. It takes up too much of your practice time."

An interesting thing, the running game. But if you're showing me a team that has a good one, I'll bet it'll have guards that aren't just failed tackles but guys who were drafted for their drive blocking, as Hutchinson and the Steelers' Alan Faneca were. And I'll bet that it will have, rarest of all, a left tackle who will actually go after people.

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