Ridley is an exciting running but I'm tired of him getting stopped for big losses. They totally destroy the offensive rhythm. I think I prefer the Law Firm and his consistent 3 yard gainers. Kept the offense moving, albiet slowly.
2:20 in the 2nd quarter:
There were four cardinals in the backfield, and Thomas in particular completely whiffed. There's no way that any reasonable observer can pin that one-yard loss on Ridley. He didn't hesitate, the blocking was just terrible. If anything, I'd blame McDaniels for attempting an outside run to the right, when at that point it was clearly evident that Thomas sucks.
10:28 in the third quarter:
Daryl Washington comes through the line completely untouched and blows the play up in the backfield
Ridley was leveled by Washington barely over a second after receiving the handoff. Again, terrible blocking, no hesitation on Ridley's part.
12:37 in the fourth quarter:
As Ridley is receiving the handoff, the entire right side of the line has already been pushed two yards into the backfield. Had Ridley tried to plow forward, he would have run directly into his blocker's back. Again, for some reason McDaniels thought it would be a good idea to run behind them.
I'm honestly kind of dumbfounded that this "Ridley is more explosive, but BJGE was more consistent" narrative is gaining any traction at all, because it should be pretty obvious to anyone who's watching the games that it's simply not the case.
Compared to last season, the Patriots' line is currently downgraded at all five positions: Light to Solder at LT, healthy Mankins to less-than-100% Mankins at LG, Connolly to Wendell at C, Waters to Thomas at RG, and Solder to Vollmer/Cannon at RT. Waters to Thomas, in particular, is a downgrade that's just about impossible to overstate- from one of the very best guards in the game to a JAG. BJGE, running behind this offensive line, would have at least as many negative plays as Ridley has had. Conversely, if Ridley was currently running behind last year's line, he'd be that much better.
In other words, it's impossible to evaluate this year's running game versus past seasons' without taking line disparity into account, because this is the worst offensive line that the Patriots have had in a long time, and they're particularly susceptible to teams that have athletic, penetrating DTs like the Cardinals (and Giants) do. If you need further evidence of how thoroughly the Pats' o-line was dominated, look to the four sacks on Brady.
The fact that Ridley is having this kind of Production behind an average-on-a-good day offensive line is actually pretty remarkable. He's better behind a questionable line than BJGE was behind one of the best in the business. Now, it's just time for the Patriots to do whatever it takes to get Waters back here, then pray that Vollmer and Mankins get back to 100% and Solder stays healthy. If it takes some extra money for Waters, then so be it - take it out of the "let's make sure our GOAT quarterback doesn't get killed" fund.
