Pats vs. Redskins post-game thread

[Deus Irae]

Its certainly true that the Jets struggled mightily with the loss of Mangold, but he was by far their best run blocker. Ours are Mankins, Waters and Light- in that order. Even with all the changes our best personnel haven't been out.

Regardless of whether or not the staff has accurately taught the new guys the fundamentals of the Pats run scheme, every offensive lineman understands run blocking. And its easier to go forward and be the aggressor than it is to be on your heels protecting the league's best QB.

As for the argument that our top running options have struggled with nagging injuries, and thus, haven't been able to establish a rhythm: Because we are so deep at RB, we should just be able to plug the next man in. There was no reason to rush BJGE or Woodhead back, (and certainly no excuse for seeing so much Kevin Faulk, especially in that Pittsburgh game).

Its all the more reason to give someone like Ridley a shot. IIRC, he hasn't been injured at all. After seeing what a rookie runner like Helu did last week it makes me consider what Ridley could do given more reps.

As a general rule, the Patriots don't take a plug-n-play approach to their running backs. They slot them for roles, and they only give them significant playing time when they think they can handle the blitz pick up. This isn't exactly secret information, so I don't know why you think the bolded part would come close to applying here.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

So i missed the game on sunday..but watched the replay last night on NFLN


The secondary or D as a whole looked so...lost..i don't know about you guys..but they don't seem to be getting better..if anything it's almost getting worse..

 

[TheTruth3402]

As a general rule, the Patriots don't take a plug-n-play approach to their running backs. They slot them for roles, and they only give them significant playing time when they think they can handle the blitz pick up. This isn't exactly secret information, so I don't know why you think the bolded part would come close to applying here.

You have a point regarding blitz pickup, a place at which I'm sure no rookie excels.

Still, there are ways around this, especially on early downs.

I don't know, I just hate seeing talented players sidelined because they don't understand ever nuance of the playbook, or they haven't shown enough on blitz pickup. Can't the staff find a way to get them more involved?

 

[ausbacker]

You have a point regarding blitz pickup, a place at which I'm sure no rookie excels.

Still, there are ways around this, especially on early downs.

I don't know, I just hate seeing talented players sidelined because they don't understand ever nuance of the playbook, or they haven't shown enough on blitz pickup. Can't the staff find a way to get them more involved?

Our resident oompa loompa Running Back has no place on blitz pick up either, yet the Patriots consistently play him on 3rd down and obvious passing situations.

 

[Sciz]

Our resident oompa loompa Running Back has no place on blitz pick up either, yet the Patriots consistently play him on 3rd down and obvious passing situations.

None of the Pats' RBs are orange!

 

[ATippett56]

You have a point regarding blitz pickup, a place at which I'm sure no rookie excels.

Still, there are ways around this, especially on early downs.

I don't know, I just hate seeing talented players sidelined because they don't understand ever nuance of the playbook, or they haven't shown enough on blitz pickup. Can't the staff find a way to get them more involved?

It's 15 weeks into the regular season not week 1. Vereen and Ridley should be able to start contributing the New England Patriots offense this late into the regular season.

 

[Mack Herron]

It's 15 weeks into the regular season not week 1. Vereen and Ridley should be able to start contributing the New England Patriots offense this late into the regular season.

Agree. Faulk and Woodhead have been injured. Woodhead can see the blitz but you might as well put me in front of it for all the times he has been run over. BJGE had one carry for zero yards in the second half last week. Two high draft picks ona position that is one of the easiest to adjust to. Vereen has a hammy so maybe the injury is holding him back. Ridley? Gotta conclude he has been a disappointment in practice cause we sure aren't seeing him in games. I would love to see a serious dedication to the running game the next few games, but I been saying that for a few months.

 

[ATippett56]

Ridley? Gotta conclude he has been a disappointment in practice cause we sure aren't seeing him in games. I would love to see a serious dedication to the running game the next few games, but I been saying that for a few months.

Ridley is not on the injury report this week. 15 weeks into the regular season, Ridley should know the playbook by now. I would like to see a greater contribution by Ridley down the stretch.

Patriots Practice Report erek's Patriots Blog

 

[cmasspatsfan]

So i missed the game on sunday..but watched the replay last night on NFLN


The secondary or D as a whole looked so...lost..i don't know about you guys..but they don't seem to be getting better..if anything it's almost getting worse..

That topic has been discussed to exhaustion, gotta look forward to the Denver game, gotta coach better, play better, practice better

 

[Uncle Rico]

That topic has been discussed to exhaustion, gotta look forward to the Denver game, gotta coach better, play better, practice better

I'm trying to remember when a "post-game thread" lived on this long ...

 

[cmasspatsfan]

I'm trying to remember when a "post-game thread" lived on this long ...

Probably after the last game we lost to the Jest

 

[TheGreatestEVER]

They might be keeping Ridley and Vereen for the playoffs, as far-fetched as that idea might be. Lets just hope Ridley can pull off a 2009 Shonn Green like playoff run.

 

[supafly]

Our resident oompa loompa Running Back has no place on blitz pick up either, yet the Patriots consistently play him on 3rd down and obvious passing situations.

That's certainly a pet-peeve of mine too. He's eventually going to get Brady killed back there, or so I'm afraid.

I'm sure it's been talked about at length in coaches meetings, but the problem is--who else to feature as the RB during the hurry-up?

Obviously Faulk is much better at picking up the blitz, but doesn't have the speed and shiftiness of Woodhead.

Therein lies the problem for everyone involved, I suppose.

One would think that Vereen will take on that role at some point, but I don't imagine it being this year.

Ridley doesn't seem to offer anything more than BJGE, and at least we know what we have in Green-Ellis as far as protecting the ball, helping to block on blitzes, and knowing his assignments.

It'd be great to see more of Ridley, and I know that we all were excited in the beginning-mid point of the year. I'm wondering what's up with that? Hopefully we see some more chances with him back there. I'd at least like someone to be able to develop a bit of a groove/hot hand, and that's hard to do when they are featuring 3 or 4 RBBC.

 

[supafly]

They might be keeping Ridley and Vereen for the playoffs, as far-fetched as that idea might be. Lets just hope Ridley can pull off a 2009 Shonn Green like playoff run.

I just don't see Ridley being able to get enough touches in an offense that probably isn't going to run more than 20-25x a game.

Strangely enough, the percentages of the run/pass ratio are 60-40 pass, down from 55-45 pass of 2010. I would imagine that we'll see a little bit of a shift towards the run in the next few games, but I don't see it being more than about 58-42 pass when all is said and done.

By putting Ridley in there, you'd then have to assess the following:

--take carries away from BJGE, who at least protects the ball, helps with the blitz well enough, and offers experience with his assignments/blocking/execution/knowing where to be in general. I can't imagine BJGE not getting 5-7 or so of the carries in a game (at least)

--not be in the hurry up, where Woodhead is somewhat effective (besides the blitz pickup, where he sucks terribly)--this aspect will limit carries for Ridley, as Woodhead will likely add another 7-8 touches per game

--Faulk may play 3rd down in the regular offense, and offer another 2-3 carries at times

That's only going to leave 5-10 carries for anyone else, at least on a regular day. This may change of course, depending on the lead/coming from behind/what is being used with success, and other circumstances.

The only way I think we see Ridley is in limited time, and with a bit of a lead/clock killing mentality. This will happen more (obviously) in the second half. If Ridley were to see carries in the first half, they'd be limited.

Of course, this could all change with an injury, or IF Ridley gets an opportunity and shows immediate effectiveness...then Belichick may tend to try and give him more reps that he has earned. One way or another, it's hard to see Ridley being much of a factor in normal 2011 circumstances, but I certainly hope you're right, and he turns into a (sometimes) playoff caliber "Shonn Greene." (in your words)

Ridley and Vereen were picked to offer carries in the future, but one would have thought that we'd at least see them blended in at times this yr. The problem is that the players in front of them have earned their reps and roles, and a bonus is that we have had an injury free year at the position; which is terribly ironic since it's a position that we could have afforded. It figures that 2011 would be the year when such a position of depth doesn't need any depth..