New England Patriot star running back Sam Cunningham admits he has been frustrated at times this season, despite earning his third OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD, being a key cog toward leading New England into the playoffs, while finishing the season fourth in the league in rushing. After Cunningham opened the season with back to back player of the week honors, gaining nearly 300 yards rushing and scoring 6 TDs, the league was on high alert.
"There was a long stretch of the season where I wondered what we were doing out there. What I was doing out there." Teams began to stack the box against the Patriots, choosing run plays more often than not, content with allowing the inconsistent Steve Grogan to try and beat them. The result was a stretch of games, beginning in Week 3 and culminating in a Week 11 rematch with the Bills, that Cunningham found himself a marked man. The Patriots countered this by decreasing the number of carries Cunningham received, which quietly incited the most important piece of that offense, Cunningham. Against the Rams, New England was drubbed, the game getting out of control upon a Cunningham fumble. Despite gaining 80 yards on few carries, he barely gained a yard in the second half of that game. Weeks 4-6 saw Cunningham maintain a superb rushing average, but only seeing the ball around 6 times a game. On came the Baltimore game, where Cunningham was injured on his first run from scrimmage. New England was able to muster a paltry 3 points without him. Cunningham's return was greeted with a game against the 49ers, a game in which New England won resoundingly, but a game in which Cunningham gained .85 yards per attempt. Some think Cunningham a selfish player, and perhaps he is, but when one realizes how important he is to team success, its hard to blame Cunningham for not wanting the ball more. As if things could not get worse, Cunningham's nightmare resounded loudly against the Bills in Week 11. In one of the strangest games of the season, Buffalo chose all but one Cunningham run- he ended up gaining negative 8 yards on 7 attempts, and the Patriots fell to Buffalo 20-17. "I can't tell you what I said in the locker room that day, but it wasn't pretty," said Cunningham. "It was a long year man, a long year. Daryl had already declared his retirement, upset with the way the offense was being run and what-not, and damn, I nearly did the same."
As if the Patriots had not already placed Cunningham in a shell for most of the season, the Bills game shocked them badly, so as to stun them. "I mean, yeah, I think that game had a huge effect on the coaching staff. Me? Nah. I want that ball every play." It was obvious to the coaching stafff, but not to Cunningham, that if the team was going to have success, it would need to pass more, while strategically utilizing their marked man.
"They were afraid," said Cunningham. "They were playing scared. I sure as hell wasn't scared, but they were playing me scared." Following the Buffalo game, New England entered a rematch with the Miami Dolphins, a game brooding with playoff implications. In the game Cunningham saw the ball but 4 times, gaining 59 yards. The Patriots barely hung on to win 21-17, needing a late defensive stop inside the red zone to seal the deal. Against Pittsburgh in Week 14, Cunningham gained 83 yards on only 6 carries. New England fought valiantly, but lost in overtime to the powerhouse Steelers. "I felt like I was watching that game from the sidelines half the time. I mean this was a huge game, huge for the fans, huge for the city, huge for us. And there I was blocking Joe Greene and Jack Ham for Steve Grogan. It was strange."
In arrived Week 15. The Patriots had defeated the New York Jets in their first meeting 31-17, in Week 2, which also so happened to be Cunningham's last player of the week honor. The Patriots were clinging, barely, to the 6th seed, desperately needing a win against the feisty Jets, a team boasting a potent offense. In what would end up being a game without defenses, New England would end up winning on a late drive 38-35. This time Cunningham was an important reason why. It was as though Cunningham balled up the entirety of his frustrations and unleashed them upon New York. Fury had rang down. 'Sam Bam' saw the rock 9 times and with it he carved out 187 yards (20.7 AVG), and 2 scores.
A Week later Cunningham would go back to his former role, even as New England held off the Oakland Raiders to secure a playoff spot. Cunningham spent most of the game on the bench in BAD condition. In a year of such triumph for Cunningham, three player of the week awards, over 1,200 yards rushing, a 5th seed in the AFC playoff, Cunningham still remains unsettled.
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