FOXBOROUGH — Tom Brady is the ringleader of the Patriots’ offense. Julian Edelman is its reliable sparkplug. Martellus Bennett does the dirty work in the trenches and over the middle. Dion Lewis is the home run hitter.
Those four are the biggest concerns for any defense preparing to face the Patriots.
But Ravens safety Eric Weddle has noticed a difference in the Patriots’ offense this year, and it doesn’t revolve around the passing game.
The Patriots have committed more to the run, which has resulted in a career season for LeGarrette Blount.
“They’re definitely committed — they have 13 touchdowns, tons of carries, they run the ball efficiently, obviously sets up big plays for them in the pass and whatnot,’’ Weddle said last week as the Ravens prepared to face the Patriots on Monday night at Gillette Stadium. “You look at the New England Patriots over the years and this is by far, you could [tell], that they’ve run the ball as much and stayed committed to it, for whatever reason. But they’re good at it.’’
After hitting a wall in last season’s AFC Championship game at Denver, the Patriots’ offense will rely on Blount as the difference-maker down the stretch. Blount’s season ended in Week 14 last year with a hip injury, and he missed the postseason run.
The Patriots know better than any team that the NFL is still a passing league, and the best way to score points and win games is to have an elite passing attack.
But the Patriots have striven for better offensive balance this year, and Blount has been the big beneficiary. He has 957 rushing yards, 50 away from his career high, with a whopping 13 rushing touchdowns, nearly double his previous best of seven in 2013.
Blount, who turned 30 last week, is cashing in nicely. He signed a one-year deal with a minimum $760,000 salary and $100,000 signing bonus with a long list of incentives totaling an extra $1 million, and Blount could conceivably earn every one. He has already earned $450,000 for cracking 950 rushing yards this season, and will earn an additional $100,000 each for breaking 1,000, 1,050, and 1,100 yards. Blount can also make $100,000 for appearing in every game (he has earned $75,000 already), and $250,000 for making the Pro Bowl on the original ballot, which appears to be within reach.
“It’s been pretty amazing what he’s been able to accomplish to come back from his injury last season,’’ Brady said. “He was having a great year for us last year and then got injured, but this year he’s been so consistent, dependable. He’s running the ball great, long runs. He looks very decisive. He’s catching the ball whenever we throw it to him, so he’s been a great factor for our team.’’
The difference between this season and others for Blount? Opportunity.
He’s averaging 4.2 yards per carry this year, down slightly from 4.3 last year. But Blount has a career-high 230 carries through 12 games (19.2 per game). In 12 games last year, Blount had just 165 (13.8 per game).
Blount’s 230 carries are the third most in the NFL. Team-wise, the Patriots are seventh in the NFL with 348 rush attempts, and just 23rd in pass attempts (417). It’s a total flip from last year, when the Patriots were 25th in rush attempts (383) and fifth in pass attempts (629).
Blount has had a checkered career with periods of questionable attitude and commitment — he was once cut from the Steelers midseason for being a problem in the locker room, and in 2015 showed up to Patriots training camp out of shape — but Bill Belichick has been impressed with Blount’s work ethic and performance this season.
“He’s made a lot of tough yards,’’ Belichick said. “He’s also made some big plays for us, has ripped off some big, explosive plays. He’s been out there every week. Yeah, he’s done a good job. He’s had a solid year for us, no doubt about it.’’
In fact, Belichick strains to find a good historical comparison for Blount, a 250-pound bruiser who has impressive quickness and agility. He hurdled a Dolphins defender in Week 2, and broke off a 43-yard touchdown run last week against the Rams, getting safety T.J. McDonald twisted up in knots.
“You see him making some tough runs and running guys over, and then you see him hurdling guys like in the Miami game and you see an open-field run like he had last week against the Rams where he kind of, you know, spun the safety around and ran by him,’’ Belichick said. “So he’s got a good combination of moves and style. He can be elusive, he can be powerful. And he’s got good run vision. It’s hard to find another guy like him.’’
It’s no coincidence that the Patriots have been more committed to the run game this year. The Patriots ran the ball on 36.5 percent of plays last year — their only time this decade under 40 percent — and, according to a team executive, concluded in their year-end meetings that their lack of a run game in the playoffs doomed them against Denver.
The Patriots didn’t have Blount or Lewis for the last five games of the season, relying on backups such as Brandon Bolden and Stephen Jackson, and averaged just 61.6 rushing yards per game in that stretch.
Against Denver, Brady was the leading rusher with 13 yards on three carries. The Patriots called 63 passing plays against 14 runs that day, and Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware were able to pin their ears back and get after Brady on every snap, knowing full well that the Patriots weren’t going to run the ball.
The Patriots probably wouldn’t have run for many yards that day even with a healthy Blount, but Belichick and Josh McDaniels wish they could have run the ball more just to keep the defense honest.
The Patriots have called run plays 44.3 percent of the time this year, their highest percentage since the 2010 season (46.0 percent). On first and 10, they’re running the ball 50.6 percent of the time, also the first time since 2010 that they have run the ball more than they have passed it. In the first quarter, the commitment to the run is even more pronounced — the Patriots are running the ball 53.09 percent of the time on first and 10.
“When you look at Bill’s M.O. and what Belichick likes to do, he wants to take a lot of pressure off the passing game by being able to have that big bruising running back,’’ said former Patriots receiver Randy Moss, now an analyst with ESPN. “Blount can be effective, he looks healthy. One thing I like about LeGarrette Blount, he brings energy to the team.’’
Blount may not have much of an impact Monday night against the Ravens, who boast the NFL’s stingiest run defense (73.8 yards per game). The last time these teams played, in the 2015 playoffs, Blount had only three carries for 1 yard.
But in the big picture, the Patriots know they have to run the ball, and the backfield situation is completely opposite from last year’s. Knock on wood, Blount and Lewis are healthy, and James White is having a breakout season as a third-down running back.
And as the season hits its crucial stretch, Blount’s role becomes even more important. A 250-pound running back isn’t so fun to tackle in the cold, inclement weather of December and January. The Colts learned that the hard way in the 2015 AFC Championship game, when Blount rushed 30 times for 148 yards and three touchdowns on a rainy, cold night in Foxborough.
“He’s hard to tackle anyway given that he’s 250 pounds,’’ Brady said. “You’ve got to be able to win in a lot of different styles this time of year. You don’t get too many great days to throw the ball, so you’ve got to be able to be multidimensional and to hand it off to him, and then to force that defense to tackle him is a big challenge.’’
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenVolin
