After Sunday's win over the vaunted Ravens defense, it seems clear that Sammy Morris is well aware of that fact.
A casual glance at his stats from Sunday wouldn't hint that he was a key contributor: six carries for 21 yards and a touchdown to go with five receptions for 35 yards. Though his numbers didn't look extraordinary, consider this: Morris earned first downs on six of his 11 touches.
One of those first downs came on a fourth-and-one, another on a third-and-one and yet another on a 12-yard touchdown run. When the Patriots needed seven yards, Morris gave them eight. When they needed a key block, Morris stepped in. Quite simply, Morris did everything the team needed, something that didn't go unnoticed by Bill Belichick.
"Those are huge plays in the game," the coach said on Monday. "It’s not how many, it’s the importance of the plays. There’s no way to understate that."
Morris didn't touch the ball until the final play of the first quarter — a fourth-and-one from the Baltimore 3-yard line with the Patriots trailing by four. Morris ran hard up the gut, directly at Ray Lewis, and picked up two yards. That set up the Patriots' first touchdown of the game, with Tom Brady doing the honors on a quarterback sneak.
Morris' next touch saved the Patriots from punting from inside their own 20 when Morris made an eight-yard reception on the sideline on third-and-seven.
In between touches, Morris spent time at fullback, a position that he didn't seem overly excited to be in but one that he played well.
“When I first came [to the Patriots in 2007], something Coach Belichick always talked about was that will to find our own roles by what we’re able to do and show them that we can do it," Morris said after the game. "So it is what it is.”
Though Morris may not necessarily be in love with his part-time position, his coach was heavy with his praise of the 32-year-old.
"I think Sammy has proved to us over the past couple years that he’s a dependable player in every phase of the game," Belichick said. "Whether it be offense, in the kicking game, running game, passing game. He’s good with the ball in his hands as a runner, as a receiver and [in] blitz pickup as a blocker, as a short-yardage runner, as a third-down back and on special teams, both as a coverage player and as a blocker in the return game.
"We have a lot of confidence in him in every one of those, and he’s come through for us time and again."
Morris' next touch in the Baltimore game was largely forgotten, overshadowed by the 15-yard roughing-the-passer call on Terrell Suggs. Two plays later, however, Morris was again in the spotlight. Lined up next to Brady in the shotgun, Morris took a delayed handoff to the right side, weaved through defenders and outran Lewis into the end zone to break a 10-10 tie.
After the play, Morris was visibly excited.
"It was just one of those tough slugfests and at that end we were able to pull it out," Morris said. "When we were making those big plays — especially for me — the emotions came out.”
Morris' next carry was for a loss, but Morris converted three first downs on his next three touches on receptions for six and 14 yards and a critical two-yard gain on third-and-one in the Baltimore red zone.
For a team that ranks 17th in the league in rushing and struggled mightily to score in the red zone in the first three weeks, Morris' contribution was invaluable. And with Laurence Maroney averaging fewer than three yards per carry, Morris' role could very well expand as the season goes on.
Last year, Morris looked poised to assume the role of feature back in the offense after a first-half explosion on a Monday night against the Broncos. Morris torched Denver's defense for a career-high 138 yards on just 16 carries in the first half, capped with a 29-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-one.
Morris was forced to leave that game due to a knee injury, which kept him out of action for the three following weeks and limited his production throughout most of the season.
This Sunday, Morris will be facing that same Broncos defense.
"What [Morris'] responsibilities and what opportunities he’ll have this week against Denver, and which one of those phases, I don’t know that I could sit here and tell you that right now," said Belichick.
Though we don't know the capacity in which Morris will be used, chances are high that he just might leave his mark on another game.
