Are you making a big deal about the Ridley fumble?

joepatsfan said:

I legit stated above that he was charged with a fumble.

You previously said turnover though, which it was not. The ball wasn't turned over to the opposition, just recovered by Develin.

And again, he was down anyway

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OK fumble not turnover.

As long as NE players recover Ridleys fumbles everything is fine.

Triumph said:

He was charged with a fumble.

16 carries and a cloud of fumble.

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You said he was charged with a turnover, he was not.
You and I both know that if Philly recovered the MANDATORY review after a turnover would of reversed that.

Triumph said:

OK fumble not turnover.

As long as NE players recover Ridleys fumbles everything is fine.

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It wasn't a fumble unless you think statisticians make calls.

jefmblrd said:

I'm not concerned at this point. Ridley is the number one back and has been running hard in the preseason; he could be primed to have a big year for two reasons: proving that he can take care of the ball after last season and this is a contract year for him. I doubt he'll be back here next year, but he'll definitely want to make a statement for the rest of the year.

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It seems almost conventional wisdom that Ridley will not return next year. I think this is counter intuitive for a couple of reasons.

Assumption 1: Ridley will get BIG Bucks signing elsewhere as a FA.

Assumption 2: Belichick will let him walk because of Ball Security issues.

Assumption 3: BB won't pay Big Bucks for a RB.

I think all the Assumptions are erroneous.

Outside of Adrian Petersen, no RBs are being offered Big Bucks and are eventually re-signing for modest money, all around the League. RB is not a hard position to fill,

Belichick taught proper ball handling technique to Faulk, who had an even worse fumbling problem, in the same tough love method. When Faulk altered his technique, BB kept and used him.

He even re-signed him for better, but still frugal money.

Triumph said:

He was charged with a fumble.

16 carries and a cloud of fumble.

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I will never understand why anyone would spend so much of their time talking about a team they truly hate?

Raymond said:

Ridley has 8 fumbles in his 3 year career. AP has 27 in 6 years.

Ridley will be fine.

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AP touches the ball a lot more than Ridley and does a heckuva lot more with it when he does. The problem is Ridley is not a good enough back to be leaving the ball on the field as much as he does.

Fumbling is a big deal for RBs with the Pats. Part of why this team has been so successful for so long is the realization that as many games are lost in the NFL as are won. Nothing will make you lose a game faster than turnovers.

Raymond said:

Ridley has 8 fumbles in his 3 year career. AP has 27 in 6 years.

Ridley will be fine.

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The moment you were going to compare Ridley to AdP in any kind of 'good' light on this topic, you should have known you were losing your mind.

I'm definitely an "In Bill I trust" homer. But if there is one thing I wish he would do, it would be to stop benching Ridley. I would like to see Ridley right back out there with the ball in his hands. He either bounces back, or he puts it on the ground again.. In which case he never sees the field again except if everyone else is hurt.

When Ridley gets tackled 1st thing I look for is ball comin loose. Sad but it is what it is. You tend to think of that on RB carries for a split second but Ridley it's like holdin your breath for a second.

Ridley is our #1 RB.

Ridley has a problem securing the ball, whether he is charged with a fumble or not.

It is what it is.

For now, we have a reasonable set of running backs, with no one but White signed for 2015. There will be lots of decisions to be made by the team and the players after this season.

The RB/FB's were good enough to give us a top 10 running game last year. They should be as good this year. Vereen being healthy plus White should make up for the loss of Blount.

The running game is certainly good enough for a top passing team.

In the end, our season depends on who gets injured by playoff time. If our defense is healthy, we will be favored to win it all. Even now, we are in everyone's top 5 best teams.

We have only one thing to prove, that more of the team can be healthy for the playoffs.

mgteich said:

Vereen being healthy plus White should make up for the loss of Blount.

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What are you basing this on?

Kenneth Sims said:

AP touches the ball a lot more than Ridley and does a heckuva lot more with it when he does. The problem is Ridley is not a good enough back to be leaving the ball on the field as much as he does.

Fumbling is a big deal for RBs with the Pats. Part of why this team has been so successful for so long is the realization that as many games are lost in the NFL as are won. Nothing will make you lose a game faster than turnovers.

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Well said. Add to that the fact that the Pats have tended to be pass first, unlike the Vikings, and Ridley never sees the defensive focus AP does. Brady is the primary weapon, not Ridley. AP is the primary weapon in Minnesota. Big difference.

The easy answer for the statistical norms argument (ie., "on the average, he is comparable to other RBs in fumbling") is the Pats do not subscribe to those norms. That is what makes them better than most teams, year in and year out. Nothing kills a drive faster than turnovers, and Ridley loses the ball. He killed the Pats in Carolina last year, and almost killed them in the Buffalo game. Both of those turnovers were a product of careless ball handling, not a great defense. And Ridley has had plenty of time to fix his form as he has spent years, not months, with RB coaching in the NFL.

I highly doubt BB benches Ridley to spite him. Likely, he does it because Ridley presents a variable he cannot control, and the variable of turnovers cannot be planned away. I agree Ridley is the best RB talent wise on the Pats for running the ball, but I would rather see a 4.0 ypc back on this offense like BJGE than a Tiki Barber type back with yardage and fumbles. I truly hope Ridley really has fixed his problem as he can be a weapon, but I would happily see him walk if he costs the Pats games by carrying the ball away from his body.

I'm not worried yet the best players will fumble every now and then. But if he keeps fumbling then yes I will be making a big deal out of it.

Deus Irae said:

What are you basing this on?

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Faith

Deus Irae said:

The moment you were going to compare Ridley to AdP in any kind of 'good' light on this topic, you should have known you were losing your mind.

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My point is, AP is also a back who had a fumble problem at times. Ridley fumbled once in his rookie season and I think he can find that back.

Raymond said:

My point is, AP is also a back who had a fumble problem at times. Ridley fumbled once in his rookie season and I think he can find that back.

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When Ridley becomes the next AdP, he can put the ball on the carpet a couple of times. Until then, let's avoid making ridiculous comparisons.

"Yeah, Mark Sanchez Geno Smith threw 20 21 interceptions, but Peyton Manning threw 28 as a rookie!"/Jets fan


Don't be like Jets fan.

Ridley was down, it is not a fumble or a turnover if the runner was down.

It Is What It Is >> Bill Belichick on Stevan Ridley: 'We never want the ball out'

The image of him at the top of the article is the same flaw he's had since his rookie year - look how loosely he's carrying it. The problem is he goes into contact a lot with the ball out there and that leads to fumbles.

He likely gets benched because he still isn't changing up ball placement.

Whatever people here may think, it was clearly significant to Belichick.


It Is What It Is >> Bill Belichick on Stevan Ridley: 'We never want the ball out'

For those of you being really hard on Ridley for fumbling a look at 2013 RBs:
(These are fumbles, not lost fumbles, but recovered and lost)

Ridley: 178 carries 3 fumbles
Blount: 153 carries 3 fumbles

Jamaal Charles: 259 carries 4 fumbles
Alfred Morris: 276 carries 5 fumbles
CJ Spiller: 202 carries 4 fumbles
Reggie Bush: 223 carries 5 fumbles
Ben Tate: 181 carries 4 fumbles
Joique Bell: 166 carries 4 fumbles
Rashard Mendenhall: 217 carries 4 fumbles

Just some numbers there... and here's back in 2012 where Ridley produced 1200 yards for us....

Ridley: 290 carries 4 fumbles

Jamaal Charles: 285 carries 5 fumbles
Reggie Bush: 227 carries 4 fumbles
Lesean McCoy: 200 carries 4 fumbles
Marshawn Lynch: 315 carries 4 fumbles
Alfred Morris: 335 carries 4 fumbles
BJGE: 276 carries 3 fumbles

Fumbling happens. I'm not saying it isn't a problem, but this problem may have the magnifying glass a little close on it. 2012 ridley was fine to me, people complained and that year about 4 fumbles on 290 touches. Last season, the timing of his fumbles were horrible, but still 3 in 178 isn't an insane amount