Patriots will go rushing into things

In the first half, when the Patriots used their regulars on offense, the Patriots rushed 10 times for 24 yards. They finished the game with 29 carries for 95 yards (an average of 3.3 yards per carry). Following the 27-25 win over the Eagles, Belichick said he thought the running game wasn’t consistent.

When the Patriots take the field at Gillette Stadium tonight against the Cincinnati Bengals, New England will try to get its running game up and running.

On paper, running the ball shouldn’t be a problem. The Patriots have a deep stable of backs with Laurence Maroney, Fred Taylor, Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, and BenJarvus Green-Ellis, and they return all five starters from an offensive line that paved the way for 2,278 rushing yards last season, the team’s most since 1985 and the sixth-highest total in team history.

“I know whoever starts and whoever comes in or comes out, we’re always going to have a good back in the game no matter what,’’ said Maroney, who had six carries for 14 yards against the Eagles.

However, much as Brady has to get on the same page with his receivers to create continuity in the passing game, the running game requires synergy between the running backs and the line. The preseason is when that chemistry can be established.

“I think that is a great chance for the backs to get comfortable with you and you to get comfortable with the backs and sort of know where they’re going to be and have them know where you’re going to be,’’ said center Dan Koppen. “There is timing in everything we do.’’

The ground game could get a boost tonight from Taylor, who sat out last week’s game. The Patriots will likely be without Morris, the team’s leading rusher against the Eagles with 12 carries for 45 yards. He has not practiced since that game because of an undisclosed injury.

From his seat on the sidelines last Thursday, Taylor, the NFL’s 16th all-time leading rusher with 11,271 yards, saw no reason to panic. Getting into a groove on the ground just takes time.