Steven Jackson has 460 career receptions, but he shouldn’t catch many passes with the New England Patriots.
Those duties go to James White, and they should continue to after an impressive three-game stretch, in which he’s had 21 receptions on 27 targets for 224 yards with three total touchdowns.
It’s difficult to remember now that many were clamoring for the Patriots to relieve White of his third-down duties after their 30-24 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 12. The Patriots claimed undersized running back Trey Williams off waivers from the Dallas Cowboys, and fans wanted to see what the Texas A&M product could do in the role left vacant by Dion Lewis, who began the season as New England’s starter and pass-catching running back before hitting injured reserve.
White caught seven passes on eight targets from quarterback Tom Brady for 71 yards and a touchdown last week in the Patriots’ 33-16 win over the Tennessee Titans, and he should have had 70 more yards, but his biggest play of the season was called back because of a bogus offensive pass interference call on receiver Keshawn Martin.
White’s success is coming because of his growing confidence in the role. While once he might have focused so heavily on simply making a reception that what came after it wasn’t quite as important, White now is making catches with ease and then picking up additional yards after the catch.
White mostly runs flat routes with the Patriots, and without the ability to make defenders miss, his receptions would only go for a handful of yards, as they were early in the season.
White’s 30-yard touchdown showed off his greatest attributes, all of which are related: smarts, vision and patience.
He ran a screen out of the backfield and twice let the play develop before scampering 30 yards down the field for the score.
White saw two free defenders as soon as he turned around with the ball.
Rather than plowing forward, likely getting tackled for a 2- or 3-yard gain in the process, White stalled, letting center David Andrews and Josh Kline form a crease.
He had to run by speedy Titans linebacker Zach Brown.
And Patriots receiver Brandon LaFell and Danny Amendola did the rest of the work for him, forming a open lane into the end zone.
The Patriots blockers did a fantastic job, but White also was patient enough to let them do their jobs. He also had the vision to see Brown coming as he moved toward the sideline.
The Patriots went up 21-3 and never looked back.
White displayed more of his physical tools on his 70-yard catch-and-run that was called back because of Martin’s penalty.
Martin did make contact with Titans linebacker Brian Orakpo, who was tasked to cover White, but it came within 1 yard of the line of scrimmage and before Brady released the ball, so it shouldn’t have been a foul.
White runs past Orakpo to make the catch and beats him to the sideline to turn upfield and then makes Marqueston Huff miss with a nasty spin move.
The most surprising part of the run came when White shrugged off would-be tackler Perrish Cox with a stiff arm. White has had trouble breaking tackles at the NFL level.
White was caught from behind, which isn’t surprising, since he doesn’t have game-breaking speed, and of course, the impressive play was called back, but it begins to show White’s upside as a pass-catcher, and perhaps some of those skills eventually will show up with him as a ball-carrier, as well.
White had just one carry for 6 yards. He had another 4-yard carry called back because of an illegal formation penalty on the Patriots.
Other observations from the Patriots’ 33-16 win over the Titans:
— It’s rare to see a linebacker with game-breaking pass-rushing skills and the ability to drop deep in a Cover-2, but Jamie Collins exists. He knocked Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota out of the game with a sack and intercepted backup QB Zach Mettenberger to deliver the game’s dagger in the fourth quarter.
— Cornerback Malcolm Butler expertly handled Harry Douglas, but Logan Ryan had trouble with 6-foot-5 rookie Dorial Green-Beckham. It appeared to simply be a mismatch for the 5-foot-11 Ryan, who was having trouble with Green-Beckham’s height and catch radius.
— Linebacker Jerod Mayo seems to be over some early-season issues with mobility as he continues to recover from last season’s patella injury. He’s strung together three consecutive impressive games as a pass rusher and run stopper.
— Defensive tackle Akiem Hicks expertly took over Dominique Easley’s interior pass rushing snaps, contributing a sack and four total pressures. The Patriots are fortunate to have a big, athletic player like Hicks as they won’t see much of a drop off after losing a first-round draft pick. Hicks was acquired in a trade with the New Orleans Saints for tight end Michael Hoomanawanui.
— Left tackle Sebastian Vollmer continues to have a lot of trouble with opposing pass rushers. He let up seven total pressures, including a sack and QB hit.
— Center David Andrews played well in starter Bryan Stork’s absence. Andrews allowed just two hurries and showed off impressive agility on White’s 30-yard touchdown.
— Running back Joey Iosefa might have lost his role to Jackson, but he was running well before the Titans stacked the box late in the fourth quarter, which dragged down his average yards per carry.
— Wide receiver Leonard Hankerson looked a bit lost at times, which is understandable, since he had just two practices under his belt before taking the field with the Patriots.
— Receiver Brandon LaFell had a nice bounce-back game after three straight weeks with a drop. The Patriots will need him if they go into Week 16 without starters Danny Amendola (knee) and Julian Edelman (foot).
— Check out this week’s pass-coverage, pass-rush and pass-protection stats..
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
