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Who In the World Are You Talking About

  • Writer: Griffin Reilly
    Griffin Reilly
  • Nov 4, 2019
  • 4 min read

Monday, November 4th, 2019


On November 20th, 2014, the New England Patriots signed weathered running back LeGarrette Blount. Three days later, Blount found the end zone twice as the Patriots thrashed the then 7-3 Lions 34-9. The Pats were familiar with Blount; he had been a focal point of their unpredictable offense that led them to the AFC Championship game a year earlier. His performance in the 2014 AFC Divisional Round included 166 yards and four touchdown rushes on 24 carries. The following week, Sports Illustrated’s cover featured his picture with the headline, “Blount Force Drama.” And while he experienced massive success on arguably the league’s biggest team, Bill Belichick and the Patriots didn’t need him. Blount was signed and then cut on three different occasions by the Patriots, even after his 18-touchdown masterpiece season in 2016.


As fascinating as he is, as were his circus-like handful of seasons in and out of New England, this isn’t about LeGarrette Blount. Amidst the ever-changing landscape that is the Patriots run game is a single diamond in the rough of history that will likely be completely forgotten about in 10 years time, if not already. That diamond is Jonas Gray.


Sure, James White is great. Shane Vereen had some great games here and there. Sony Michel could end up being quite the talent. But the reason I made a point to articulate the high points of LeGarrette Blount’s career is merely to invalidate the relevance of it is because of one man: Tom Brady. The entire legacy of the New England Patriots between 2000 and 2020 belongs to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. And I don’t care if you disagree, because it doesn’t matter. I’m right.


It doesn’t matter than Jonas Gray ran for 201 yards and four touchdowns on 37 carries against a fantastic Indianapolis Colts team on November 16th, 2014. It doesn’t matter because just four days later, as you might remember, the Patriots signed Blount. It doesn’t matter because when the Patriots played the Colts yet again in the playoffs that year, it was Blount that led the way with over 150 yards and three touchdowns. Gray had four total yards on the same defense he torched just a few weeks earlier. It doesn’t matter because the Patriots actually won the Super Bowl to cap off that season, and Jonas Gray didn’t see a single snap in that game. Their 2014 season would be remembered by Tom Brady’s Super Bowl MVP performance and Malcolm Butler’s heroic game-saving interception. In that moment, as the Patriots celebrated, not a soul was thinking about Jonas Gray.


But 201 yards and four touchdowns? Isn’t that just fucking crazy? Only two other running backs in Patriots history had eclipsed 200 yards in a single game. And in those other two games, which belonged to Tony Collins (1983) and Jim Nance (1966), neither managed to find the end zone as many times as Gray did in 2014. The 2014-2015 Colts also had a considerably better season than Nance or Collins’ respective opponents in their breakout games. With all this being said, it’s not unreasonable to conclude that Jonas Gray may have had the greatest single-game rushing performance in franchise history.


Yet like I said, because of Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and maybe even guys like Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, Gray’s performance won’t remotely contribute to the lore of this Patriots dynasty.


But what the hell happened to him?


A week after Gray’s breakout performance, he didn’t see a single snap. Sure, Blount’s signing was promising and definitely a great addition to their backfield, but that didn’t warrant immediately tossing Gray into obsolescence (which is essentially what Belichick did). Two weeks later, the Patriots suffered a tough loss to the Green Bay Packers. Surely, they included Gray in such a tough game in which they needed top competitors. Too bad Jonas! He received just one carry for four yards. Fantasy owners across the nation were furious, all thinking November 16th had marked the introduction of the NFL’s newest star.


In fact, Gray would only receive 24 total touches over the remainder of the season, including their Super Bowl run. Gray would then be cut by the Patriots in the offseason ahead of the 2015 season.


Gray landed short stints with the Jaguars and Dolphins in 2015, but never again found the end zone in his career. He bounced around on a few different practice squads, but didn’t remotely resemble the player that his November 16th performance indicated he could’ve been.


It’s sad, to an extent, but more than anything, it’s just absolutely nonsensical. There are plenty of athletes who never make it to the big stage despite possessing incredible talent. But rarely has there ever been one like Jonas Gray: he who seemed like, upon waking up that day, rushing for 200 yards and four touchdowns was merely a bucket list item he’d been itching to check off.


Or perhaps he may have just been reaping the benefits of one of the three wishes a genie had granted him earlier that day after unexpectedly emerging from the lamp on his nightstand.


Fascinating.


Gray, #35, with the Patriots in 2014.

 
 
 

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