Did you hear?! The New England Patriots signed Ezekiel Elliott this week!
The club signed the former Cowboy to a one-year deal with a maximum of $6 million. A relative steal for a running back room that desperately needed another body.
In his weekly hit on WEEI’s Gresh and Fauria program, former Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia was asked about the addition of Elliott, and what he can bring to the team:
“I think both those guys, Rhamondre and Ezekiel Elliott, have proven that they can play in the National Football League,” Scarnecchia explained. “I know that Rhamondre is a real threat out of the back field and I also know that so is [Ezekiel Elliott]. The more that you can have guys that have the ability to do that, to run with speed… and power, and finesse when it’s required, and are able to catch the ball, I think it just gives you a two-headed monster.”
“You put one in for the other and there’s no drop off. If you’ve got that ability that’s a pretty good thing. I think we’re all anxious to see in which direction that goes, see what Ezekiel is like at this point in his career, the other guy we know, three years in the league and is on the up swing.”
“Two guys that can really make things hard for the defense. And I always believe this, and I believe this with all my heart: good backs make the lineman better. Because they’ll find the holes, especially those backs that have great vision, they’ll find what’s there… you usually do pretty well with guys like that.”
You can listen to the full interview with Scarnecchia here:
gresh and fauria: Dante Scarnecchia breaks down the importance of joint practices
As for the offensive line itself, which has struggled so far during the start of Patriots training camp, Scarnecchia said that we shouldn’t hit the panic button just yet on the pass protection:
“Well, I dont know. I don’t know how much they’re struggling with their best guys out there. We all saw what happened the other night, you know, and hey look it i’m all for playing those young guys as much as you can and accelerating the growing process with those guys because one or two of those guys may end up playing this year, you never know.
He continued:
“I would hope that here in the second preseason game and especially this week when they’re practicing against Green Bay and they’re not having to block Uche and they’re not having to block Judon and those guys and all of a sudden it may get a little bit better or it may still be a struggle, I don’t know. But I would hope that they, at this time, and certainly by next week that things would be a lot better and more the way that they would want them to be.”
Scarnecchia, who is widely considered one of the better offensive line coaches the game has seen, ended his hit with a mic drop moment about how the run-game has advanced since he’s retired:
“I’m glad I’m not playing line in the San Francisco or Miami system, because I couldn’t figure that sh– out.”
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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