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FOXBORO - There's not a Corey Dillon among them, and none of them are trying to be him, either.

The 2008 New England Patriots run by committee, and they're proud of it.

"To use that type of backfield effectively," veteran Sammy Morris said, "you have to have the right kind of guys to do it, in the sense of not being selfish, putting the team first and we're not focused on stats and that stuff. I think we have that here. Aside from the on-field talent we have in the backfield, I think it speaks for the character of the guys we have doing that. We're all our biggest supporters when the other one is on the field."

Right now, rather than emulate Dillon's record-setting 2004 season (1,635 yards), four backs are sharing the bulk of the workload led by Morris (43 carries, 143 yards), followed by LaMont Jordan (24-106), Laurence Maroney (28-93) and Kevin Faulk (11-54).

Last Sunday in San Francisco, all four saw duty in the 30-21 victory over the 49ers with varying levels of success. Morris was the most used of the runners and Faulk was Mr. Touchdown on the goal line, running in two scores. Jordan suffered a leg injury in the second quarter - and his status remains unknown for this Sunday night's game in San Diego (8:15 p.m.; Ch. 7, 10) - while Maroney did not run effectively and saw action sparingly after the opening quarter. But as Morris said Monday from the Patriots' temporary base of operations at San Jose State University, one game's performance won't dictate how the players may be used in the future.

"I don't think it plays a factor in the way we approach practice or games," he said. "The biggest thing in finding the 'leading role' is for the media guides and programs. Once the game gets there, we let the coaches make that decision. In order to do that you have to have the right character guys in the mindset of 'we're all looking to make the most of our opportunities when we get them in the game.' And like I said, putting the team first is our biggest focus."

The Patriots base all of their strategies upon how they will perform in specific situations, and they go over those situations in every practice. That's what made Faulk's two touchdowns possible, he said.

"Every game that you play, you try to improve," the 10th-year veteran from Louisiana State said. "This week we tried to improve our red zone offense, and I think we worked hard on it and it showed. You just have to be consistent with it and keep moving.

"It's just about everybody doing their job, getting everything done correctly and just not trying to do too much," Faulk added. "I think that is what we have to understand as an offense and a football team."

"Short yardage and the goal line, those types of runs are close to 90 percent attitude and heart, just to be able to find a little seam or a little crack and force your way to the first down and keep the drive going," Morris added.

The running game's success against San Francisco (144 yards) couldn't have been accomplished without a big assist from the offensive line. Left tackle Matt Light and fullback Heath Evans were particularly effective in clearing holes, Morris said.

"Matt Light did a great job," he said. "He's such a powerful and quick guy so he gets on those blocks pretty quickly and that makes our reads a lot easier. Then Logan (Mankins) and Billy (Yates) on the inside and Dan Koppen as well, there are times when the zones come through the middle where getting their blocks quick and either keep moving them, pushing them back, or at least keeping it on the line.

"They did a good job up front of making our reads easier," he said. "I know a couple times with Nick (Kaczur), the right tackle, hey were running a stunt and you have to make a quick read and he was able to get his body into it and hit the guy out of the way. It clears up a lot of reads for us."

MARK FARINELLA may be reached at 508-236-0315 or via e-mail at mfarinel@thesunchronicle.com. Read Farinella's blog, "Blogging Fearlessly" at thesunchronicle.com/farinella.