Ridley Fumbles - Let's not let facts get in the way

[Brady6]

I'm not saying his fumbles aren't a problem, I'm saying exaggerating the issue with 'they seem to happen at the worst times' is wrong.
They happen pretty much in the same situations everyone elses do, and are equally as debilitating.

I don’t think they’re that big of a problem honestly I think people got spoiled by Green-Ellis never fumbling and began thinking it was the norm but it actually is not players make mistakes, when you look at Ridley’s regular season touches he has 533 combined touches (carries, receptions and kick returns) and he has fumbled 8 times and lost 5. That means he fumbles the football 1.5% of the time and 0.09% of the time that fumble results in a turnover – essentially 98.5% of the time he has the football in his career it is without issue, if baseball players only have to succeed 30% of the time to be considered all-stars I have a hard time faulting a running back who carries 98.5% of the time without issue and causes a turnover less than 1% of the time.

 

[Brady6]

Fumbling is unacceptable period, i don't care who else does it in the NFL, it's a momentum killer.

Ten things to expect when becoming an NFL fan:

1. QBs throw interceptions.
2. RBs fumble footballs.
3. WRs drop catches.
4. OLs miss blocks.
5. LBs miss tackles.
6. DBs get beat.
7. Kickers miss field goals.
8. Coachs make bad decisions.
9. Officials make the wrong calls.
10. Forum members post about what’s acceptable of a NFL player.

 

[Fencer]

Ten things to expect when becoming an NFL fan:

1. QB's throw interceptions.
2. RB's fumble footballs.
3. WR's drop catches.
4. OL's miss blocks.
5. LB's miss tackles.
6. DB's get beat.
7. Kicker's miss field goals.
8. Coach's make bad decisions.
9. Official's make the wrong calls.
10. Forum member's post about what’s acceptable of a NFL player.

Illegal use of apostrophes! 15 yards and repeat the post.

 

[tombonneau]

Illegal use of apostrophes! 15 yards and repeat the post.

LOL I like that you only highlighted the last four when all the others were incorrect as well.

Incomplete grammar policing. Turnover on downs.

 

[Fencer]

LOL I like that you only highlighted the last four when all the others were incorrect as well.

Incomplete grammar policing. Turnover on downs.

Usage evolves, and I think the others are now reasonable. The ones I highlighted, however, are clearly incorrect.

 

[tombonneau]

Usage evolves, and I think the others are now reasonable. The ones I highlighted, however, are clearly incorrect.

Lynne Truss politely disagrees.

Amazon.com: Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation eBook: Lynne Truss: Kindle Store

 

[PP2]

Lynne Truss politely disagrees.

Amazon.com: Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation eBook: Lynne Truss: Kindle Store

There is zero tolerance towards incorrect punctuations; why shouldn't there be zero tolerance towards fumbling?

 

[tombonneau]

There is zero tolerance towards incorrect punctuations; why shouldn't there be zero tolerance towards fumbling?

Your right. Screw Ridley and his fumble's.

 

[varjao]

I don't buy this "took the risk for a big reward" talking.

Turnover is a game killer, one of the reasons the Patriots are doing so well over the years is because of this, turnover differential.

If other coaches took that risk Ok, I'm happy Belichick Doesn't.

He can be crazy drafting but he knows the game better than anyone.

 

[varjao]

There's other thing, after staying on the dog house on week 1, he came back cautious and inefficient, he's a great RB running reckless, taking care of the ball his production goes down badly.

 

[Brady6]

Illegal use of apostrophes! 15 yards and repeat the post.

Fixed it thanks man!

 

[IcyPatriot]

We had 6 in 2012 ... 4 by Ridley

We had 3 in 2011 ... 2 by Brady and 1 by Ridley.

We had 2 in 2010 ...

We had 7 in 2009 ... 3 by Maroney ... he was gone.

It is an insult to compare Ridley's fumbles to the rest of the league.

Belichick operates at a much higher standard than the rest of the league.

 

[1960Pats]

the fumbles don't faze me much.......they happen

it's easy....when it happens inside the 10 like that, just look at is as a drive that ended in a really good punt

I couldn't disagree more with that Zen philosophy. When Ridley coughs it up as we're heading in for points, it's nothing at all like a really good punt. Besides the points being lost, it's a big letdown for us and a momentum boost for the bad guys.

A great play by a defender is a great play, but Ridley deserves all the criticism he gets when he exposes the ball and/or drops it on the ground through carelessness. We pay him to hold on to the ball.

 

[Brady6]

We had 6 in 2012 ... 4 by Ridley

We had 3 in 2011 ... 2 by Brady and 1 by Ridley.

We had 2 in 2010 ...

We had 7 in 2009 ... 3 by Maroney ... he was gone.

It is an insult to compare Ridley's fumbles to the rest of the league.

Belichick operates at a much higher standard than the rest of the league.

Icy I am overall a huge fan of your posts but with all due respect I have to disagree with you a bit on this one - I think it really depends on the type of player and what he brings to the offense, Kevin Faulk had 20 fumbles and 15 of them were lost on his 1295 combined touches (carries and catches) so he fumbled right around 1.5% of the time which is where Ridley currently paces out at, someone like Green-Ellis who didn’t offer a lot on the field may have been held to a high ball protection standard.

 

[1960Pats]

Ten things to expect when becoming an NFL fan:

1. QBs throw interceptions.
2. RBs fumble footballs.
3. WRs drop catches.
4. OLs miss blocks.
5. LBs miss tackles.
6. DBs get beat.
7. Kickers miss field goals.
8. Coachs make bad decisions.
9. Officials make the wrong calls.
10. Forum members post about what’s acceptable of a NFL player.

Doesn't why those things happen make a big difference? If a QB throws a perfect pass and the WR drops it, is it the same as making a mistake in a read and having it returned for a pick 6?

If the kicker misses a FG because the holder's hand got in the way or because a gust of wind came up as he let it rip, is that the same as him bouncing his foot off the turf on a perfect day with a perfect spot?

If the RB fumbles because the defender caught the ball perfectly with his shoulder, is that the same as fumbling because the RB carried the ball out away from his body and got swiped away by a hand?

I'm not looking to hang the guy right now though. He's an excellent runner and a steal where the Pats drafted him. But...

 

[Brady6]

I couldn't disagree more with that Zen philosophy. When Ridley coughs it up as we're heading in for points, it's nothing at all like a really good punt. Besides the points being lost, it's a big letdown for us and a momentum boost for the bad guys.

A great play by a defender is a great play, but Ridley deserves all the criticism he gets when he exposes the ball and/or drops it on the ground through carelessness. We pay him to hold on to the ball.

If you want to fault Ridley for turnovers when we are about to score that is fine but you also have to fault these players:

“Second quarter, 7:54: Just when the Patriots start getting the ball rolling on offense, LeGarrette Blount fumbled. Hopefully no one took the over in this game. Carlos Dunlap chopped the ball out of Blount’s arm.”

“New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady fumbles the snap on a crucial 4th and goal on the Bills 1-yard line and Bills linebacker Kiko Alonso recovers it.”

“The Atlanta Falcons catch a huge break when New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady fumbles the snap and allows the Falcons”

“On a 3rd and Goal from deep in the red zone, Brady threw into tight coverage to rookie free agent tight end Zach Sudfeld early in the third quarter. A better thrown ball may have resulted in a Patriots touchdown and the game would have been put away in the beginning of the second half. Instead Tampa Bay safety Mark Barron took the ball and landed in the end zone for a touchback.”

 

[1960Pats]

Usage evolves, and I think the others are now reasonable. The ones I highlighted, however, are clearly incorrect.

You should have thrown in the challenge flag. You would have won the challenge and kept all your timeouts.

 

[Brady6]

Doesn't why those things happen make a big difference? If a QB throws a perfect pass and the WR drops it, is it the same as making a mistake in a read and having it returned for a pick 6?

If the kicker misses a FG because the holder's hand got in the way or because a gust of wind came up as he let it rip, is that the same as him bouncing his foot off the turf on a perfect day with a perfect spot?

If the RB fumbles because the defender caught the ball perfectly with his shoulder, is that the same as fumbling because the RB carried the ball out away from his body and got swiped away by a hand?

I'm not looking to hang the guy right now though. He's an excellent runner and a steal where the Pats drafted him. But...

I am not saying to forgive him but to expect a running back to not fumble is like expecting a quarterback not to throw an interception anytime you do anything repetitiously there are going to be errors – human error is part of the game and if you want to sit down our best running back because he makes a mistake who really is getting hurt? Ridley being on the sideline hurts the team personally I am not a fan of the hurt the team to send a message approach personally well not when it was an unintentional error or an error that was done while acting with good intentions.

 

[tombonneau]

We had 6 in 2012 ... 4 by Ridley

We had 3 in 2011 ... 2 by Brady and 1 by Ridley.

We had 2 in 2010 ...

We had 7 in 2009 ... 3 by Maroney ... he was gone.

It is an insult to compare Ridley's fumbles to the rest of the league.

Belichick operates at a much higher standard than the rest of the league.

Glad you brought up 2012. Here are the list of players with 4-5 fumbles broken down by carries/fumbles/fumble%. Ridley is the bottom 3 of %. Fumbles happen. Welcome to reality.

Player Name	 Carries 	Fumbles	%
Fred Jackson	115	5	4.35%
Bryce Brown	115	4	3.48%
Willis McGahee	167	5	2.99%
LeSean McCoy	200	4	2.00%
Chris Johnson	276	5	1.81%
Reggie Bush	227	4	1.76%
Jamaal Charles	285	5	1.75%
Marshawn Lynch	315	5	1.59%
Shonn Greene	276	4	1.45%
Stevan Ridley	290	4	1.38%
Alfred Morris	335	4	1.19%
Adrian Peterson	348	4	1.15%

 

[1960Pats]

If you want to fault Ridley for turnovers when we are about to score that is fine but you also have to fault these players:

I do fault other players too. They just don't hear me, same as Ridley.

If I could talk to anyone though, I would want it to be Belichick. I'd give him a piece of my mind I tell ya.