Ridley

[IcyPatriot]

It's early and he's barely a rookie,but one has to wonder if Vereen will ever have a place on this team.

He's been healthy but hasn't really shown anything when he has been in there.

Vareen has not been healthy ... lingering hamstring isssue.

 

[Seanzayyy]

Currently, I think it's BJGE. But Ridley has the potential to be our number one back.

 

[brady199]

Our best RB is the one who can pick up the blitz. That rules out Woodhead.

 

[ahmed]

I think so. I was very encouraged by the fact that they had pass plays under centre while he was in the game. I think they had more of those today than all other games before combined which shows the coaches are beginning to trust him with the blitz pick up even though he did not have to block at all today (unless I missed it).

The only thing we haven't seen yet is how he does in the passing game. I would love to see him in space, he seems like he has nice speed.

 

[crowell33]

I think so. I was very encouraged by the fact that they had pass plays under centre while he was in the game. I think they had more of those today than all other games before combined which shows the coaches are beginning to trust him with the blitz pick up even though he did not have to block at all today (unless I missed it).

The only thing we haven't seen yet is how he does in the passing game. I would love to see him in space, he seems like he has nice speed.

Speaking of pass plays, nice catch on that 53 yard reception by BJGE.

 

[fumbrunner]

i don't understand the obsession with picking a #1. they are turning out to be a good tandem. I think they have been resting bjge and his toe and i expect big games from both of them in the playoffs. still incredible that bjge has not fumbled.....ever.

 

[Ian]

For anyone who wants a deeper breakdown, here's a tool that I made that lets you look at a quarter-by-quarter breakdown that includes the number of negative rushes, carries for no gain, etc. for each player:

2011 Patriots Rushing Stats - Breakdown

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Wait a minute! A whole season and I'm guessing around a 100 carries (give or take a few), the ball hits the ground once and Riddley is being knocked for being a fumbler? Wow, talk about a tough crowd.

There is very little doubt at this point that Riddley is the go to back for the bulk of the hand offs. He is out performing BJGE by quite a bit. However, as is so often the case, BJGE has positives that are more desirable in certain circumstances.

I am fan of BJGE. The guy is a consummate Patriot. However, given his yardage performance over much of the season, if we make BJGE our feature back in the playoffs (our best back), be prepared for even more pressure to be put on the passing game. BJGE simply is not performing at a level that warrants a lot of 'general' hand offs......but as a fan of his I recognize (again) he has excellent contributions to make in specific situations. Riddley (again) is performing at a level that warrants the bulk of the -- what I will call -- general hand offs.

Watching Riddley I get the feeling that some big, explosive gains are just a blade of grass away from happening (not fumbles). With BJGE, I just don't sense there is these big, breakout runs about to happen.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

I like our running backs because they have cat-like quickness.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

After seeing the speed and jukes BJGE had on that screen pass..i still think he's it

 

[Frezo]

It's hard for me to call. They're both a good fit for what they do. Obviously though, with 100% completions, Hoyer is the best QB.

 

[ATippett56]

Our best RB is the one who can pick up the blitz. That rules out Woodhead.

The New England Patriots garden gnome ........

 

[ALP]

BJ has been hurt as well most of this season, you shouldn't truly take this year and compare it to ridley's, whos been injury free

BJGE when healthy (as he showed today) is better than ridley right now, though both serve different purposes, BJGE is a between the tackles guy, and ridley has the speed to take it outside

again, if i were stuck with one, i would choose BJGE, you give the guy the ball inside the red zone, and it WILL be a td

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

A little 2011 stat checking (thanks Ian):

Riddley:
87 att, 441 yds, 5.07 YPC, 1 TD, 18 FDs, 1 fum/ 0 lost, 16 0/- carries

BJGE:
181 carries, 667 yds, 3.69 YPC, 11 TDs, 39 FDs, 0 fum/ 0 lost, 36 0/- carries

BJGE, besides bringing more experience, has shown better production when rushing for that difficult 1 yard (based on the greater number of TDs). Riddley brings the bigger and more explosive gainers (based on the greater YPC). It is easy to see that each back has a role to fill (and expand based on their skills when not getting the hand off). But IF there had to be a back anointed #1 (based on the standard of producing 100 yards or more of rushing per game), I don't see an argument that makes 3.69 trump 5.07.

Fyi, Woodhead:
352 yds, 77 att, 4.57 YPC, 1 TD, 18 FDs, 0 fum/ 0 lost, 6 0/- carries

 

[UK_Pat37]

The Patriots are starting to employ that 'two back approach' which is so common in today's NFL...a running back corps by committee is the best way forward. Pat Kirwan wrote about it in his book...the issue in the past with running backs is that teams would give their best back the huge bulk of the carries (kind of like what Adrian Peterson is asked to do for the Vikes) and with that, their careers were drastically shortened.

Ridley is the speedier and more agile guy...I personally think Green-Ellis is the better power runner although I'm not knocking Ridley's ability to do it. You use your agile and speed guy in the situations which best dictate to use him, then you have your short yardage/goal line back (that's Green-Ellis). The committee approach is the best way forward and we'll continue to see it...but Ridley should definitely start to see the bulk of the carries in my opinion. There's little doubt about that in my eyes.

Having that approach prolongs the life expectancy of your feature back and keeps him fresh. The Giants do the same thing with Bradshaw and Jacobs. Vereen is the future at 3rd down back and I don't see why Woodhead hasn't got a future here. Re-signing Green-Ellis is a must in my eyes.

 

[ATippett56]

Re-signing Green-Ellis is a must in my eyes.

That depends on how much interest Green-Ellis garners in the unrestricted free agent market.

 

[robbomango]

N.O. does a great job using multiple backs for rushing, receiving/screens etc..

Is all the depth at RB intended for similar production/rotation, moving away from the featured Back models of the past?(6 RB's)

 

[UK_Pat37]

N.O. does a great job using multiple backs for rushing, receiving/screens etc..

Is all the depth at RB intended for similar production/rotation, moving away from the featured Back models of the past?(6 RB's)

That's exactly what it is yes, for the reasons I mentioned...which I got from reading Pat Kirwan's book 'Take Your Eye Off The Ball' which is a must read for anyone interested in the Xs and Os of the game and how the league works! I learnt so much from that book...I thought I knew a lot before I read it...I had no idea how much I didn't know!

The idea is to take the strain off of one guy, and prolong his career, and have a solid committee which lasts you a decent amount of time. The old feature back way of things resulted in agonisingly short careers for some Running Backs.

 

[DarrylS]

Gotta go with BJGE, not because of this injury filled season, but because of the body of work.. since coming to this team as an UDFA, has made progress yearly, if he was stagnant would not feel that same. Pretty confident that the decision makers on this team, would view it the same way.

I like Ridley, but what is there not to like about a physical, inside the tackles runner who has a nose for the goal line and has never fumbled.

I think they try to keep BJGE.. he is one of those guys we see who is more valuable to this team, as we know how to use him, than to most other teams.

 

[Tyler.Durden]

I want them both, they are complementary backs.

You take either one by them-self, and they have holes.

A fumble prone back is useless, so hopefully that won't be an issue.

BJGE isn't much of a homerun hitter, but he is perfect with the sac-fly and can bunt the runners over.