The value of Shane Vereen/Stevan Ridley

[RobertWeathers]

He looks injured. He doesn't look like he's got the same burst and he's too young to be losing his first step.

He's had an ankle injury for a couple of weeks now. That might have something to do with it. I does seem like he doesn't have that same burst.

 

[chasa]

the league is different when it comes to returns given that 75% of kicks don't get returned, and the pats have amendola and edelman to do punt returns......non issue to me

the biggest thing is to be effective at picking up the blitz with a QB like brady........this was where woodhead was a liability. bringing someone new in stands to compromise what is already a someone tenuous pass protection situation.......

if the pats plan on upgrading the OL, then it is even more important to have the pass pro of a 3rd down back to help breakdowns due to a new OL, and I believe they will be doing some work at the OG position in the offeseason

They are clearly happy with Blount being in for pass protection, And Gray appeared to do just fine in his one game prior to being late for work.

in any case 3rd down block back is not a valid enough reason for BB to give either player more then vet minimum which both will probably get more then from some weak teams in FA.

 

[RobertWeathers]

With Blount, White, Gray, Gaffney under contract I do not see the team this offseason overpaying at for Vereen Develin and Ridley.

 

[chasa]

With Blount, White, Gray, Gaffney under contract I do not see the team this offseason overpaying at for Vereen Develin and Ridley.

Develin isn't going anywhere, BB loves him,

 

[Double TE]

For reasonable $$ sure if not just sign Roy Helu. Same guy....

 

[IllegalContact]

They are clearly happy with Blount being in for pass protection, And Gray appeared to do just fine in his one game prior to being late for work.

in any case 3rd down block back is not a valid enough reason for BB to give either player more then vet minimum which both will probably get more then from some weak teams in FA.

he had no problem giving faulk much more than that for the same production......

as for blount, 2nd half yesterday says otherwise......it is more likely he was brought in to push gray and that once gray 'gets it' blount will be gone...I do not expect to see blount on the roster week 1 of next year

 

[Double TE]

Blount will be here with Gray and White. Possibly Vereen too. Stop it.

 

[Sciz]

For reasonable $$ sure if not just sign Roy Helu. Same guy....

I watched all of Helu's targets a few weeks ago, and I wasn't impressed. The catch rate and the yards look good on paper, but pretty much all of his catches are screens or dump offs where he's not covered. Something like 1/4 of his total catches are failed third down conversions, too. I saw no lining up out wide, and only one route from the backfield, running 5 yards down the field and then an in cut. His receiving stats are what they are because they run a ton of RB screens and because they leak him out of the backfield a lot. Neither of those translates into a big receiving line in the Pats offense.

 

[IllegalContact]

With Blount, White, Gray, Gaffney under contract I do not see the team this offseason overpaying at for Vereen Develin and Ridley.

I give blount the lowest chance of being here next september

 

[RobertWeathers]

I give blount the lowest chance of being here next september

If cut, there will not be a cap hit.

 

[chasa]

he had no problem giving faulk much more than that for the same production......

as for blount, 2nd half yesterday says otherwise......it is more likely he was brought in to push gray and that once gray 'gets it' blount will be gone...I do not expect to see blount on the roster week 1 of next year

Once again Faulk did MORE for the team, including playing on special teams.

 

[IllegalContact]

If cut, there will not be a cap hit.

I know........

his YPC has gone down every game he's been here......yesterday he looked like he was running in water.......great in small amounts, but I would hate to count on the guy

 

[IllegalContact]

Once again Faulk did MORE for the team, including playing on special teams.

he did kick returns which nobody cares about anymore.....he did some punts as a backup...he was never more than mediocre in either....that's not the primary responsibility of a 3rd down back......Faulk was here because he could pick up a blitz and catch the ball out of the backfield....if the QB likes how those 2 work out, vereen will be back

 

[RobertWeathers]

he had no problem giving faulk much more than that for the same production......

Good points.

After the 2003 season, Faulk received essentially a 3 yr/$6m deal or a 6yr/$15m deal. Obviously the cap has gone up so that needs to be factored in here...

After their first 40 games and first 4 years or so, Vereen's & Faulk #s support your assertion. However, because Faulk carried the ball more frequently and ran back kicks and punts, he might have had a little more value to the club than Vereen does at this point. However, catching 50 balls out of the backfield, able to run and pick up the blitz in this offense and Brady & the coaching staff having confidence in you carries a lot of weight come contract time.

as for blount, 2nd half yesterday says otherwise......it is more likely he was brought in to push gray and that once gray 'gets it' blount will be gone...I do not expect to see blount on the roster week 1 of next year

Possible. Reading the tea leaves Gray needs a little more seasoning on what it means to be a pro. Working hard and performing is part of it- but not all of it.

 

[IllegalContact]

Good points.

After the 2003 season, Faulk received essentially a 3 yr/$6m deal or a 6yr/$15m deal. Obviously the cap has gone up so that needs to be factored in here...

After their first 40 games and first 4 years or so, Vereen's & Faulk #s support your assertion. However, because Faulk carried the ball more frequently and ran back kicks and punts, he might have had a little more value to the club than Vereen does at this point. However, catching 50 balls out of the backfield, able to run and pick up the blitz in this offense and Brady & the coaching staff having confidence in you carries a lot of weight come contract time.

Possible. Reading the tea leaves Gray needs a little more seasoning on what it means to be a pro. Working hard and performing is part of it- but not all of it.

spending a couple hundred grand on blount to keep gray's mind in it at this point of the season is prudent

the FA market for RB's in the offseason is flooded

I see a buyers market on keeping your own

 

[RobertWeathers]

I know........

his YPC has gone down every game he's been here......yesterday he looked like he was running in water.......great in small amounts, but I would hate to count on the guy

Hes had an ankle issue in recent weeks so that might what is bogging him down.

Vereen has been fine as a CoP runner. His YPC has been acceptable.

 

[IllegalContact]

Hes had an ankle issue in recent weeks so that might what is bogging him down.

Vereen has been fine as a CoP runner. His YPC has been acceptable.

and they have to pay attention to him as a target because he will smoke your ass if you don't

 

[Marinlik]

I would be very dissapointed if we re-signed Vereen for anything more than $1.5M a year. He just isn't that good. I would say he is the by far most overrated player on our team(4 years not even 2000 total yards). He can't make guys miss or break tackles. It's not about being able to run up the middle. It's about getting a one on one situation with a defender and being able to make that defender miss, Vereen can't. What he can do is run a swing/out/wheel against a linebacker and beat them because he is faster than a linebacker. I like that part of his game. But I don't want to pay anything more than I have to for a running back that can't run the ball, and that can't break tackles.

 

[BelichickFan]

I would be very dissapointed if we re-signed Vereen for anything more than $1.5M a year. He just isn't that good.

Agreed, I'm not a huge James White fan but surely he could give us what Vereen is giving us. If we got him back real cheap, fine, if not then Blount, Gray, Gaffney, Bolden, White are more than enough to compete in training camp and establish roles.

I would be perfectly happy going forward with Ridley and Vereen too, I just wouldn't use much cap space to do it.

 

[IllegalContact]

I would be very dissapointed if we re-signed Vereen for anything more than $1.5M a year. He just isn't that good. I would say he is the by far most overrated player on our team(4 years not even 2000 total yards). He can't make guys miss or break tackles. It's not about being able to run up the middle. It's about getting a one on one situation with a defender and being able to make that defender miss, Vereen can't. What he can do is run a swing/out/wheel against a linebacker and beat them because he is faster than a linebacker. I like that part of his game. But I don't want to pay anything more than I have to for a running back that can't run the ball, and that can't break tackles.

hooman making 1.5M must piss you off

Kevin Faulk......13 years, 7300 total yards
Shane Vereen.......4 years, 1800 yards

it's all in the ballpark.......1.5M plus some incentives seems pretty good