s the best way to defend a running game &mdash

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FOXBORO -- Behind bruising runner Peyton Hillis, the Cleveland Browns gashed the Patriots on the ground a week ago to the tune of 230 yards on 44 carries — an average of 5.2 yards per carry, including an average of 6.3 yards every time Hillis was handed the ball. [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]

“That’s the best way to defend a running game — if you’re far enough ahead, it’s hard to have that patience and keep running the ball,” Belichick said.
Other than that 34-yard run and [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]’s improvised 12-yard scramble, the Steelers managed just 30 yards on 14 carries in the game. Part of the Steelers’ limited production had to do with the score — the Patriots took a 14-point lead early in the third quarter — but they still only attempted 11 designed run plays in the first half.
Cleveland, on the other hand, rushed 16 times in the first half before pouring it on in the second half to put the game away.
The fact that the Steelers had to play from behind, too, made them more one-dimensional.
“The six, seven,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], eight, however many guys are involved in a particular play in the running game, everybody has got to do their job,” head coach Bill Belichick said. “If seven of them do it and one doesn’t, there’s a gap for the runner and that’s where he’ll go. It’s everybody playing team defense and taking care of their run responsibilities, and, ultimately, tackling. Mendenhall is a good back, and so is Mewelde Moore. We had trouble tackling him a couple of times in the game. Part of it is being in position, and the other part is actually getting him on the ground.” [link widoczny dla zalogowanych]
Patriots find a quick fix to their problems on run defense
Just a week later, the Patriots limited the Pittsburgh Steelers — who were averaging 117.8 rushing yards per game this season — to 76 yards on the ground, including just seven rushing yards in the second half. Before Rashard Mendenhall broke off a 34-yard run around the right side late in the fourth quarter, the Steelers have managed just 17 yards on their first eight carries.