RB position going forward?

Ridley is in the doghouse until he can regain the trust. His fumbling is an issue going forward until he proves it's not. Vereen is the better option at this point.

mitsudriver said:

Look at Belichick's press conference statement.


“I think Shane stepped up, did a good job for us. We counted on him a lot, he came through on a lot of plays, that was a huge run he had at the end to get us in field goal range, keep the ball in bounds and force them to use another timeout, that was good play and that was a smart play.”

"Smart play" is probably the highest praise you're gonna get from him.

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Yep, I recall a pair of plays in the 4th quarter where I was impressed with Vereen's situational awareness -- one smartly heading for the sidelines when time was precious, another smartly staying inside the lines when they wanted to keep the clock running. Good running, good thinking.

Would love to see Kevin Faulk this week have a deep discussion with Ridley of what he is doing wrong and his fumble problems and fundamentals in holding the ball,if anyone knows what its like to have ball control issues early in a career only to end up as one of the most reliable backs in Patriots history...its Kevin.

Ridley is the fastest and most elusive runner on this team...period.

Vereen certainly has starter ability but overall Ridley is the best back and should be #1 on the depth chart if he can get his ball control act together.

PATRIOTSFANINPA said:

Ridley is the fastest and most elusive runner on this team...period.

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OK, you lost me there. We're talking about Stevan Ridley, right?

He's a terrific runner because of his balance, body control and footwork. He's also slow as molasses.

patchick said:

OK, you lost me there. We're talking about Stevan Ridley, right?

He's a terrific runner because of his balance, body control and footwork. He's also slow as molasses.

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You lost me there. Ridley is fast. He just has an average breakaway speed. Almost sea like he slows down after 30-40 yards but that's ok. Ridley is fast not slow.

Ridley has a lot of talent, that's out of question, but every time he rushes into the other team defense with that full speed I wait for the worst.

The point is, we came from Lawfirm who didn't fumble for the Patriots. The team has a philosophy about not turning over the Ball, about not taking risks. BB values that a lot. Tom Brady is probably the top QB's in the aspect of protecting the ball not doing crazy throws. BB put that on the team. And also the Pats lead the league on forcing turnovers for years like a stat showed during the game.

So he's going against all this.

I'm not sure he is fixable anymore, it's just the way he plays, he ever played throughout his career. When he did fumble for the second time today I just thought "trade this guy". Now I'm easy and I don't think it's the way, but he's not reliable in close games. With a good spread, ok, let him rush.

I like the combination of Vereen AND Ridley. They both add different dynamics to the Patriots rushing attack. It's 1A to 1AA in my mind.

I'm about done with Ridley. He is a fumble machine. Not to mention Vereen is quicker, a better blocker, and can catch passes as well. It is what it is.

patchick said:

OK, you lost me there. We're talking about Stevan Ridley, right?

He's a terrific runner because of his balance, body control and footwork. He's also slow as molasses.

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I wouldn't describe Ridley as "slow as molasses." That would be someone like Blount.

This is not the first time Ridley as been "in the dog house" for fumbling. This has been an ongoing problem, that should have been corrected by now. I'm sure BB has had discussion with him about this. It's not getting resolved. Turning over the ball is a game killer. I just don't think he is getting better with ball protection. Of course that's just IMHO

Ridley's a very, very good short-yardage and goal-line runner, and the red zone offense suffered because he was taken off the field off that freakish fumble.

I like both of the running backs a lot, but when Vereen hits a hole it looks like he's in fast forward. Not sure I remember a Patriots running back with those sort of jets in my lifetime.

Ridley only fumbled once in the game today. The first one he was ruled down by contact. The second one was so flukey that I am willing to forgive him for it. Prior to this season he only had 5 career fumble on 377 carries. While not great, I feel that his fumbling issues are being massively overblown.

Re: Stevan Ridley might've just lost his job

serifyn said:

D Thompkins is clearly not ready to be taken out of the oven.

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MAYOnnaise said:

Ridley only fumbled once in the game today. The first one he was ruled down by contact. The second one was so flukey that I am willing to forgive him for it. Prior to this season he only had 5 career fumble on 377 carries. While not great, I feel that his fumbling issues are being massively overblown.

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It may not have counted as a fumble, but it was being careless with the football. Indicative of a fumbling issue. Ridley is a powerful, quick, agile and fast enough RB, but it is all for nothing if he is going to fumble. A couple games in the doghouse should help him refocus.

Vereen ran well on the inside runs, he took what was there. Vereen absolutely could be an everydown RB for the Patriots, there are plenty of guys that are his size being successful in the NFL.

Vereen's a better ll around RB. Ridley's a better runner. He's also a better fumbler. His fumble had a large part in our AFC Championship lost. His fumbles today weren't even forced. He should be be benched.

Ridley obviously has a problem and it will be interesting to see how BB handles it. BB said this week that "dependability is more important than ability." I think Ridley is running out of leash. If he cannot do the job, I like Bolden to move into his role with Vereen staying where he is (still getting about half the snaps). In any case, when Bolden returns, I see Blount as inactive. Washington returns kicks Thusday.

Faulk was worse, if I recall correctly. He got over it.

Most running backs fumble, the difference between a 'fumble-prone' running back and a one with superior ball control is often not statistically significant, but rather depends on the impact of any one or two fumbles. Ridley's had a couple of big fumbles in big games the Patriots lost (Niners and AFCCG last year) and therefore any future fumbles will uphold the 'fumble-prone' narrative even if he's not any more fumble-prone than the typical 250+ carry running back.

MAYOnnaise said:

Ridley only fumbled once in the game today. The first one he was ruled down by contact. The second one was so flukey that I am willing to forgive him for it. Prior to this season he only had 5 career fumble on 377 carries. While not great, I feel that his fumbling issues are being massively overblown.

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Actually , I think he had 7 before this game. Stevan Ridley on fumble against Bills: 'It sucks for me to be in this situation' | masslive.com

Shane Vereen had 58 receiving yards today.

Stevan Ridley had 51 receiving yards in 2012.