8/25: Reiss Predicting Ridley Gets Cut

Ivan · Aug 25, 2014

Triumph said:
One team would be successful and a team that Ridley wants to play for.

Also, Ridley gets paid more hitting the market.

He could always tell Belichick that he wants to be a free agent and that he is nullifying his deal and wants more money and a pony.

DW Toys · Aug 25, 2014

Brady6 said:
Ridley is a top 10 NFL RB as runner; at the very least, they would trade him and get something for him.

Cut no. Trade, if you could get something and the fact that he did not play much can mean "lets make sure he is up and walking" for a trade scenario. Ridley does have trade value.He is in the also year of contract and you can't pay Vereen and he both, which might be the reason they Drafted White?

Reading the tea leaves if there is such, it might be BB has an offer on the deck. It makes sense if you think about it. So the RB corps would be Vereen, Gray, Bolden and White (Finch?). Cut any of those LAST 4 and they get plucked before we can get them back on the PS. White was brought in to replace either Ridley or Vereen and he sticks anyway. I think Vereen is more valuable to TB in this offense if White and Bolden pick up the slack?
DW Toys

Ivan · Aug 25, 2014

NE_PATS_FAN_54 said:
- The emergence of James White. He's clearly made a favorable impression on the team thus far.

Really?

Could you point me to some of the highlights because i clearly missed them?

ivanvamp · Aug 25, 2014

Brady6 said:
Ridley is a top 10 NFL RB as runner; at the very least, they would trade him and get something for him.

Exactly. He costs next to nothing and has a lot of talent. Some team would give something pretty useful for that kind of player. No way they just cut him.

NE_PATS_FAN_54 · Aug 25, 2014

Ivan said:
Really?

Could you point me to some of the highlights because i clearly missed them?

You got it:

Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who is not given to touting untested players, sounded impressed by White's start.
"It's been good working with James White," Belichick told SiriusXM's NFL Radio. "He's a very interesting and versatile player. He does a good job in the passing game and in the running game, both inside and outside, blitz pickup.
"We have a pretty extensive offense for him to learn and he's working hard at it. We'll just let him go and see how it goes. But I think he has the ability to compete on all three downs, in both the running game and the passing game."

Writer Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com put White first on his list of early winners in all NFL training camps this summer.
"No rookie in the league has had a more steadily growing drumbeat than the fourth-round rookie out of Wisconsin," Rosenthal said. "Teammates, coaches and media alike have raved about White's three-down potential. White has seen a lot of short-yardage work, and there are questions about whether White could cut into Stevan Ridley'searly yardage work."

Bob Wolfley - Sports Day - James White impresses New England Patriots

Rob Ninkovich echoed Jones’s thoughts.
“He’s got tremendous cut ability — when I was watching some of the run clips, his vision is amazing. His ability to get into the line of scrimmage and change direction, his explosiveness, is impressive,” he said.

White has seen a lot of time with Brady and the offense since training camp began, and Brady, who doesn’t often talk up rookies, has spoken in glowing terms about the 5-foot-10-inch, 205-pounder.
“He’s done a great job since he’s got here. He’s got a real maturity for someone who is just getting out of college,” Brady said. “He’s made a lot of really great plays out here.

Patriots teammates are already holding James White dear - The Boston Globe

I'm not trying to put him in Canton, but you typically don't hear this type of praise coming from teammates about a rookie. Add in his college experience (2 fumbles in 754 touches), this all leads me to believe that having White as a depth option (among their other RB's) would allow them to feel comfortable parting with Ridley.

stelfans · Aug 25, 2014

I havent seen anything from the others RB(well other than Vereen that is) that would make me feel comfortable to cut Ridley. Very unimpressed with the rookies, and even with Ridley's fumbling issues he is a great runner.

Ring 6 · Aug 25, 2014

DW Toys said:
Cut no. Trade, if you could get something and the fact that he did not play much can mean "lets make sure he is up and walking" for a trade scenario. Ridley does have trade value.He is in the also year of contract and you can't pay Vereen and he both, which might be the reason they Drafted White?

Reading the tea leaves if there is such, it might be BB has an offer on the deck. It makes sense if you think about it. So the RB corps would be Vereen, Gray, Bolden and White (Finch?). Cut any of those LAST 4 and they get plucked before we can get them back on the PS. White was brought in to replace either Ridley or Vereen and he sticks anyway. I think Vereen is more valuable to TB in this offense if White and Bolden pick up the slack?
DW Toys

Gray to practice squad or Bolden to oblivion are much better options.

hwc · Aug 25, 2014

I don't know whether Ridley will make the team or not, but I'm pretty sure he won't be the "feature" back. It seems that Belichick wants to get the run/pass option on early downs from the backfield instead of TEs. That leads to a diminished role for Ridley.

Ring 6 · Aug 25, 2014

hwc said:
I don't know whether Ridley will make the team or not, but I'm pretty sure he won't be the "feature" back. It seems that Belichick wants to get the run/pass option on early downs from the backfield instead of TEs. That leads to a diminished role for Ridley.

What do you base 'what BB wants to get' on?
Traditionally he has used a RB who rarely catches passes in the base offense, and a pass catcher int he spread and hurry up.
The change to a 1 TE offense and also more use of the FB would tend to increase the usage of a guy like Ridley, not decrease it.

Ivan · Aug 25, 2014

NE_PATS_FAN_54 said:
You got it:

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/james-white-impresses-new-england-patriots-b99324894z1-270095981.html

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...-white-dear/lbHcdo6CwiPNoUpd4ESwyI/story.html

I'm not trying to put him in Canton, but you typically don't hear this type of praise coming from teammates about a rookie. Add in his college experience (2 fumbles in 754 touches), this all leads me to believe that having White as a depth option (among their other RB's) would allow them to feel comfortable parting with Ridley.

Appreciate the response, I hadn't seen any of those quotes. The praise is great but I haven't seen anything at all from him in the pre-season games. Hopefully he sticks around and we see what they are talking about.

hwc · Aug 25, 2014

AndyJohnson said:
What do you base 'what BB wants to get' on?
Traditionally he has used a RB who rarely catches passes in the base offense, and a pass catcher int he spread and hurry up.

The roster (only 1 pass catching TE) and the reps Vareen and White have gotten in training camp, even taking reps together in a two-back offense.

In three preseason games, Ridley has 19 rushing attempts (3.9 YPC average) and 0 pass receptions.

I suspect that Ridley's role on this team will be the guy who comes in for obvious running downs (4 minute offense, etc.)

Bobs My Uncle · Aug 25, 2014

I wouldn't be shocked to see the Pats move on from Ridley. He's nothing special as a runner and he offers little to no value as a receiver or as a ST player. The fact that he fumbles at inopportune times isn't something worthwhile either.

primetime · Aug 25, 2014

Bobs My Uncle said:
He's nothing special as a runner

This isn't at all true.

Ring 6 · Aug 25, 2014

hwc said:
The roster (only 1 pass catching TE) and the reps Vareen and White have gotten in training camp, even taking reps together in a two-back offense.

In three preseason games, Ridley has 19 rushing attempts (3.9 YPC average) and 0 pass receptions.

I suspect that Ridley's role on this team will be the guy who comes in for obvious running downs (4 minute offense, etc.)

The roster does not indicate we aren't going to run the football. Arguably having a FB indicates we may run it more.
Ridley has gotten plenty of reps in camp, so that is a non-issue.
Rushing attempts in preseason games tells me nothing.

borg · Aug 25, 2014

As much as I want to dismiss this latest "Reiss gut feelin" prediction as pure conjecture....haven't we all learned by now....Mike is in the loop and his "gut feelings" are most likely more informed than he wants us to know. Back during the failed Welker negotiations, Mike prepped his readers with "his" view of the contract situation....and a few days later Bob Kraft made a public statement almost verbatim to the Reiss "opinion". Having Bob Kraft as your go to guy is quite a coup...good for Mike. I have learned to accept...MIKE KNOWS

Ring 6 · Aug 25, 2014

hwc said:
The roster (only 1 pass catching TE) and the reps Vareen and White have gotten in training camp, even taking reps together in a two-back offense.

In three preseason games, Ridley has 19 rushing attempts (3.9 YPC average) and 0 pass receptions.

I suspect that Ridley's role on this team will be the guy who comes in for obvious running downs (4 minute offense, etc.)

Ridley had 22 preseason attempts last year and entered the season as the #1 RB.
Shane Vereen had 11.

Danger Zone · Aug 25, 2014

Deus Irae said:
Bill Belichick doesn't seem to agree with the idea that 'Ridley's "fumbling issues" are incredibly over-exaggerated'. Perhaps you and Shmessy can sit the coach down and set him straight.

Am I actually witnessing Deus make an Appeal to Authority and Belichick argument??

Mike the Brit · Aug 25, 2014

Bobs My Uncle said:
He's nothing special as a runner and he offers little to no value as a receiver or as a ST player.

If you said: his fumbling undermines his value to the team, I'd have sympathy. But to describe the Pats' best pure running back since Corey Dillon as "nothing special" takes my breath away.

Danger Zone · Aug 25, 2014

And for those of you saying Reiss has now lost all credibility...

Belichick himself could write an article with his own 53 projection and I will guarantee you that it will have have a half a dozen discrepencies between what he thinks now and his final decision 5 days from now.

PP2 · Aug 25, 2014

Not sure why Reiss would be losing any kind of credibility.

His exact words:

If there's a surprise, we'll play a hunch at this spot with Stevan Ridley, whose low snap total Friday (11 snaps) in a "dress rehearsal" game caught the eye.

Doesn't strike me as a bold prediction.

8/25: Reiss Predicting Ridley Gets Cut

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