Shane Vereen

Shane Vereen


What do we do with him?

I believe that Ridley is gone, unless they bring him back on a one year "prove-it" after injury deal, but what about Vereen? He was great this year and significant in the Superbowl. The small passes and bubble screens were killing the Seahawks and I love watching him play. The Patriots have a ton of offseason decisions to make, starting with Revis as we all know. Secondly, most likely McCourty and Gost.

Do you think the Patriots keep this guy or let him go?

I'd love to have him back here and he did come up huge in the super bowl, but I wouldn't overpay for him. I'd like to sign him for Woodhead type money with the Chargers maybe slightly more but any more than that I'd look for a replacement. Thrird down back is very crucial in our offense but BB has been able to do a good job making up for losses there. Faulk seemed irreplaceable but we plucked Woodhead off the street and he did well for us. Then when Woodhead left in FA we knew Vereen had more skill/explosivelness but we weren't sure if he could match the others in terms of being clutch and making the key conversions. He did just that. I have faith in our FO/staff to find the next 3rd down back if Vereen is looking to break the bank, I wouldn't be suprised if he got some solid offers after his Super Bowl.

I think it's more likely Ridley is back than Vereen. They also have White and don't forget about Tyler Gaffney. Vereen deserves to get paid and I don't know if NE will be able to do it if they extend McCourty and Revis.

His price went up big time. That's the downside of having a solid year and great Super Bowl.

I think the team really wants him back -as do I , but if some team comes along with big money I'm not sure he's worth it.

I was thinking a 4 yr deal @ 3m per ave but I think that's low now...

Shane Vereen has stepped nicely into the Woodhead/Faulk role. I expect him to be back. Not sure about Ridley.

Nunchucks said:

Shane Vereen has stepped nicely into the Woodhead/Faulk role. I expect him to be back. Not sure about Ridley.

Click to expand...

I'd like to see Ridley lose some of that beef. He's bulked up a ton and IMO lost some quickness and elusiveness. That also might help him be more effective in the passing game if Vereen moves on.

dales804 said:

I think it's more likely Ridley is back than Vereen. They also have White and don't forget about Tyler Gaffney. Vereen deserves to get paid and I don't know if NE will be able to do it if they extend McCourty and Revis.

Click to expand...

I don't know whether they'll be able to either, but a reliable receiving back is essential to this offense and I don't think Vereen is so easy to replace. I believe he put up the 2nd most receptions by an RB in team history this year -- 2nd only to Kevin Faulk in the year that Matt Cassel constantly needed a check-down option.

Kid~Brady said:

He was great this year and significant in the Superbowl.

Click to expand...

Shane actually struggled running the ball for much of the year, to the point that I was resigned to letting him go. But that SB performance was outstanding and I hope he comes back.

Also Vereen has very low mileage and the wrist injury that made him drop some passes last season were not present in this recently ended season.

He's worth above average money. But I think BB already drafted his replacement in James White.

I would put Vereeen as the #2 priority for the Pats this off-season (with restructuring Revis as #1). Ridley was easily replaced, although he got hurt at a really bad time for him, economically speaking. I don't know what kind of offers he will get. Of course, for any of the Pats offensive players, you would think that Houston will be in the mix to sign them also.

Vereen has been nothing but steady and reliable for the Pats, he was huge in the Superbowl and throughout the playoffs. Just once, can we let Brady start a year with relatively the same crew that he ended it with? Keep some continuity as to avoid early season losses to bad clubs (like Miami and KC).

FreeTedWilliams said:

I would put Vereeen as the #2 priority for the Pats this off-season (with restructuring Revis as #1). .

Click to expand...

Revis can be #1 but there is no way Vareen comes before DMac

Priorities in order:

1. Revis
2. McCourty
3. Gost
4. Vereen

Exactly. I would even put Ghost above Vareen.

What is with this board? Vareen more important than DMac? Arrington sucks? DA is only worth a million a year? DMAc is only good.

Do people who post here actually follow the team?

I'd overpay for Vereen. But I also agree that McCourty and Revis are much more important.

Vereen is better than people think. I don't know how much the last month of the season will push up his price though... Possibly too much.

Vereen doesn't seem to have great vision or something. He always seems to get takled when he's near defenders. I think he's very good in the passing game but not so much on draws.

I had posted it in another thread but back in the day the Pats gave Kevin Faulk a deal something like 6/15 which works out to 2.5/year. I thought perhaps something like 6/18-21 would get it done. Now somebody is going to throw stupid money at him. I think it was Willie who said teams will pay a lot of money for a guy who can catch, protect the QB and still isn't afraid to run between the tackles. Throw in the championship pedigree and I wouldn't be shocked to see him get 5M AAV with a nice guaranteed money.

Oswlek said:

Shane actually struggled running the ball for much of the year, to the point that I was resigned to letting him go. But that SB performance was outstanding and I hope he comes back.

Click to expand...

I meant more in the passing and bubble screens. We really didn't rely on him much for running the ball, he's come up huge for us in some games. One game that really comes to mind was the Jets game at Foxboro.

Vereen earned a very rich contract with his performance in the SB. Prior to that game, I thought there might be a chance they could retain him. Even then I thought it was still a bit of a reach. Now, I think he's as good as gone. Someone will overpay based on that SB performance - 11 receptions - but it won't be NE. I just don't think he ever truly became the threat they thought and we hoped he'd be. He had some bright moments, but they were so few and far between. Whether be it injury or they didn't feature him in some game plans, he was invisible for long stretches in games and in the season (or at least it seemed that way).

I think he's very good and would love if they retain him. In fact, some might think I'm just saying this, but I said Vereen and Collins would be huge. I was partly right, as I feel Collins struggled a bit. Anyway, Vereen is a good player to have on the team, but I think he's going to demand a bit more than NE will give. I'd be happy to be wrong though!

Vereen earned a very rich contract with his performance in the SB. Prior to that game, I thought there might be a chance they could retain him. Even then I thought it was still a bit of a reach. Now, I think he's as good as gone. Someone will overpay based on that SB performance - 11 receptions - but it won't be NE. I just don't think he ever truly became the threat they thought and we hoped he'd be. He had some bright moments, but they were so few and far between. Whether be it injury or they didn't feature him in some game plans, he was invisible for long stretches in games and in the season (or at least it seemed that way).

I think he's very good and would love if they retain him. In fact, some might think I'm just saying this, but I said Vereen and Collins would be huge. I was partly right, as I feel Collins struggled a bit. Anyway, Vereen is a good player to have on the team, but I think he's going to demand a bit more than NE will give. White was the contingency plan. I'd be happy to be wrong though!

One last thing, I'm sorry to disagree with those saying he's Faulk. He was nowhere near as durable and he did not make half the big plays that Faulk did in his Patriot days. Faulk was more consistent, a better blocker in the blitz game (not by much), and had a knack for being there at the most critical moments. Vereen has a few of those too, but Faulk is just special to me.

We break the bank for him, pure plain and simple. He's a specialist that cannot be replaced easily.