FYI: Faulk Didn't Take Any Carries From BJGE or Ridley - Page 2 - New England Patriots Forums

RIpats88 · 10-31-2011, 10:53 AM

I dont get why we arent utilizing woodhead more...he was exceptional for us last year in the running/passing game.

I think he couldve gotten more yards on the pass plays than faulk given his speed/athleticism

but maybe they wanted to use him soley for kick returns and not risk injuring him on running/passing plays since you cant trust slater and edelmans out...

**Ian** · 10-31-2011, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarrylS

OTOH we have had success with #42 as our lead back, why mess with success??

It is not about whether I like or dislike a player, but he has been away from the game for a while now and has only had one session of contact drills..

I understand what you're saying, but the thing people aren't realizing is that BJGE is still ailing from the toe injury, and Ridley's battling a hamstring - the same injuries they had before the bye but obviously they're still a problem.

Faulk only had six carries yesterday and was productive, while Green-Ellis only had five at 1.8ypc and he took a couple hard shots from Pittsburgh's defense, so obviously he's still not 100%. Meanwhile if Ridley's also not 100%, at least they have Faulk and Woodhead - which is better than who they've had for depth in past seasons.

As I said, that wasn't their problem yesterday. The problem was the fact that Brady was on the sidelines for nearly 40-minutes watching Pittsburgh go up and down the field.

Patspsycho · 10-31-2011, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian

I love reading the people complaining about Faulk on here and on Twitter. Just an FYI, he only carried the ball six times today with a 5.3avg. I could understand the argument if he ran it 13 or 14 times with a 1.8 yards per carry average, but they were playing from behind for most of the game against a defense that was really tough to do much against today. Nobody was running the ball.

Some of you have probably seen the stats database I created on here, which requires me entering in each play in order to be able to break it down by quarter, down, etc. Prior to today, they usually run 60-70 offensive snaps (excluding penalties), and ran only around 50, nearly twenty less than they normally run.

Pittsburgh simply did a great job keeping Brady off the field, and it was that coupled with the fact they kept finding themselves in long situations that made it tough to get anything going today. Not to mention the fact they didn't go to the no-huddle to prevent Pittsburgh from being able to substitute, which did work out for them on their one touchdown drive.

Needless to say it was the other issues that cost this team a shot at a win today - not Faulk being out there. I know we have a tendency to build guys up and then tear them down, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to lay off him. Plus according to most reports Ridley's still battling a hamstring issue and Green-Ellis' toe is still bothering him. So with both of those guys still ailing, it's nice to have someone to give them some depth and experience.

I know everyone's irritated, but honestly...#33 is the least of their problems right now.

I disagree.

Faulk is absolutely irreplaceable as a 3rd down specialist- and he reads coverage like nobody else and hits the vacant zones pretty well, and is the best at picking up the blitz (except for that Woodley sack where he slid left).

However, he simply is not a 3 down back, no matter how you spin it, he is just not a power back, he does not cause the box to compress, and there is no play action option when he is on the field.

Naturally we will never know the depth of the injuries if suffered, by BJGE or Ridley, and if there were actual (.e.g, BJGE has turf toe) then it would definitely make sense that Faulk saw as many snaps as he did. However it still just doesn't improve our run game.

everlong · 10-31-2011, 07:33 PM

Watching the game I thought it was obviously Benny wasn't himself so I wasn't shocked he didn't get many carries. With the large dose of Faulk I assumed at the time not knowing about Ridley's hammy that they didn't trust him for blitz pickup vs the Steelers and used Faulk who's the best in the business at it.

If Faulk doesn't juggle the ball on that draw he goes for a first down and perhaps a TD. I'm not faulting him after a year away. Just pointing out that they actually under utilized the draw in this game IMO.