Lets call a spade a spade Riddley's Fumble

Everytime Ridley takes a step forward he takes two step backwards with a careless fumble that cost us atleast 3. Some bad calls went against us but add that 3 points early on and all we would need is just a FG to win instead of a TD. you Cannot turn the football over and take take points away from the Offense in a close game and come out on the positive end. I think this is his last chance because if he loses another fumlbe like that again, I think BB will shut him down. No question about his talents but talent that turns the ball over is a detriment to their team. You gotta hold on to the football Riddler!

DA's not here anymore. You don't have to call him the Riddler.

But seriously, the Pats are going to be in the market for a RB come the draft. His fumbling has reached epic proportions and the entire league knows to do everything in their power to slap at the ball when they tackle him.

I didnt want to jump the gun on this with a thread of its own, but since it was brought up.......What happens to Ridley in the offseason? He will be going into his final season of his rookie contract. Do the Pats attempt to trade him in the off season? Or do the Pats hope the fumble issue fixes itself and they ride him out?

Ridley's fumbles are just too much, and I would not re-sign him. It sucks because he is our most dynamic runner and he gets yardage that Blount just can't. But the sample size is large enough to determine that he has a real fumbling issue that is not going away.

Don't give up on him. Yes he might have taken at least 3pts off the board but would we have been there without his rushing?
Ridley is our best runner....and fumbler. Tiki Barber was a fumbler. Kevin Faulk was too

If not for the refereeing debacle at the end of the game then I'd be saying that Ridley's fumble cost the Pats the game also. It's almost no fun to watch him run anymore because you're just waiting for the ball to pop out. And that's a shame because Ridley is a very dynamic RB with borderline greatness when it comes to gaining yards.

Some RBs keep fumbling, while others stop fumbling, so...

I would keep him. This Patriot offense is worse without him.

You live with him contributing to a loss because otherwise your RBs might not be able to propel you to a win, and you hope he freakin' improves.

Do you draft another RB in the 3rd or 4th? YES.

Put it this way: if Ridley had been in the game on 3rd and 1 in the 4th qtr., you might run there.

That was about the worst fumble Ridley has had because it was such a light hit on the ball. I love having him running the ball and am willing to deal with fumbles but that was just not good. Hope he can get ball protection figured out while he has a chance to here.

I remember Brady had some issues fumbling the ball early in his career and he made it a goal of his to improve that and he has dramatically. Yes, they're two different positions but I'm just making the point that it can be worked on and fixed, hopefully.

If Ridley was a superior runner a case could possibly be made that his value to the team is greater than the harm his putting the ball on the ground does.

But he's nothing more than a JAG runner so his fumbling becomes a serious issue. Unfortunately (for the Pats), Ridley is the best they have at the RB spot so they almost have to play him.

He's not talented enough to deal with a fumbling problem. He isn't Adrian Peterson or Tiki Barber. He's a solid, one-dimensional system back.

Draft a 4th-5th round RB in 2014, resign Vereen after 2014, and let Ridley walk after 2014 where he'll get overpaid.

The BC RB plays exactly like Ridley and could be had in round 4.

Law firm never fumbled when he was here, not.....one....0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 fumble and Ridley just make me sad.

dales804 said:

That was about the worst fumble Ridley has had because it was such a light hit on the ball. I love having him running the ball and am willing to deal with fumbles but that was just not good. Hope he can get ball protection figured out while he has a chance to here.

I remember Brady had some issues fumbling the ball early in his career and he made it a goal of his to improve that and he has dramatically. Yes, they're two different positions but I'm just making the point that it can be worked on and fixed, hopefully.

Click to expand...

That was my initial thought thats why I called it careless it wasn't a violent hit that caused fumble. That was like a routine love tap and bam the balls on the ground. He need to learn to cradle the football better.

libra957 said:

Law firm never fumbled when he was here, not.....one....0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 fumble and Ridley just make me sad.

Click to expand...

But he fumbled 3 times early in Cincinnati.

I do think Ridley has a problem, but what are you losing by having RBs who can't quite run like Ridley can?

We've been through Antoine Smith, Laurence Maroney, several others. And Ridley is the closest thing to Corey Dillon that we've had. If he can be replaced, do it. But don't expend a top draft choice.

I also think BB putting him back in because he knows he needs what Ridley gives from the position.

My vote for his worst fumble was in, I believe, the first game this year. He tried to cut to the right and slipped, then as he was falling, he put his hand on the ground to catch his fall. Unfortunately, that happened to be the hand the ball was in so the ball got lodged loose and fumbled. A player from the other team picked up the ball and ran 80 yards for a td.

Ridley is much better than a JAG and has a fumbling problem. This OL is not built to block for the likes of Tiki Barber. If Ridley ever solved his running problem, he's a 1500 yard rusher on a team with run blocking.

upstater1 said:

Ridley is much better than a JAG and has a fumbling problem. This OL is not built to block for the likes of Tiki Barber. If Ridley ever solved his running problem, he's a 1500 yard rusher on a team with run blocking.

Click to expand...

But we won't be a run blocking team, as you talking about, aslong Brady is here. So they should "shop" him or atleast not resign him and draft a new one.

He simply didn't have the ball tight to his body, the replay from side on clearly showed he was loosely carrying the ball which is poor form at the best of times but near the LOS? That's a lapse in concentration/sloppy technique. Ivan Fears needs to make sure the issue gets fixed.

quick someone find the guy who taught tiki barber not to fumble so much

The biggest problem with Ridley is not only that he fumbles, but he tends to do it in big games. He cannot be counted on in a pressure situation. At the end of the end year let him walk. If he hasn't learned to hang onto the ball by now he never will.

Blount ran hard yesterday even looked a bit faster getting to the line.

Blount 10-49
Ridley 13-48

Im good with more Blount/Vereen and less Ridley. He cost us the game.