Ridley

[supafly]

Ridley is my favorite RB on the team, but I'm perplexed as to why Vereen has gotten next to no play time, is he hurt? Why invest a 2nd round pick on a guy that has to wait in line to touch the ball. I really hate how this whole committee RB is managed. There's no damn reason we should be carrying this much RBs.

The most popular theory is that he is simply a pick for the future, and will be much more of a contributor next season when Faulk retires and BJGE possibly leaves.

He was injured early on, and missed a lot of training camp if I recall correctly. For a rookie, that is not a good sign in a crowded house backfield when everyone plays some sort of 'role.'

I am sure that as he continues to get acclimated to the playbook, get comfortable with the complex offensive schemes, and learns how to properly pickup the blitz (very key), he will obviously get a lot more live game reps next year as he moves up on the depth chart due to the reasons listed above.

I am a bit perplexed by all of the people who somehow expected him to get a lot of playing time this yr (not necessarily you at all), as it seems that his skill set is much closer to Faulk or Woodhead than it is to BJGE or Ridley. Throw in the lost time of training camp with the hamstring injury, and it's not hard to figure that he's a pure pick for the future.

RB was a position of need on some level, at least when you consider looking past this year.

 

[Patspsycho]

Ridley is my favorite RB on the team, but I'm perplexed as to why Vereen has gotten next to no play time, is he hurt? Why invest a 2nd round pick on a guy that has to wait in line to touch the ball. I really hate how this whole committee RB is managed. There's no damn reason we should be carrying this much RBs.

If this perplexes and frustrates you, then think about this- we now have four QB's for the 2012 season.

 

[Double TE]

I love Ridley, think he will be massive for us next season. Hope to see Vereen getting more snaps too. Not too bothered if BJGE stays or not

Vereen was hurt early in camp and continued to have Hammy issues. That slowed down his progress but in limited play and in college he was legit. You can never have enough depth at RB and Vereen + Ridley are the future. Now we need to draft or sign a deep threat at WR and the O is set for the next 4-5 yrs!

 

[Uncle Rico]

Vereen's finally off the injury report this week, first time in a while. He's looked pretty good in the carries he's had. Might end up inactive Saturday anyway; we'll see. Gonna be a nice storyline going into next season, seeing how he and Dowling grow in year two; hopefully it's the opposite of Price and Cunningham.

 

[Double TE]

Vereen's finally off the injury report this week, first time in a while. He's looked pretty good in the carries he's had. Might end up inactive Saturday anyway; we'll see. Gonna be a nice storyline going into next season, seeing how he and Dowling grow in year two; hopefully it's the opposite of Price and Cunningham.

Cunningham is done and Price was cut, right? Plays for Jax now.

I love how the Pats just throw away some picks, ugh!!! Then again they hit on guys like Edelman and FAs like Arrington. Incredible.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Cunningham is done and Price was cut, right? Plays for Jax now.

I love how the Pats just throw away some picks, ugh!!! Then again they hit on guys like Edelman and FAs like Arrington. Incredible.

Throwing away a draft pick means you are choosing a player that has no chance of making the roster or contributing to the team.

Missing on a player means that the team made a pick but for whatever reason the player did not perform or the team's system was not a match for the player's skill sets/makeup.

The missed on Taylor and it's almost the case with Cunningham. We'll see for sure next year.

But rest assured, BB does not throw away picks.

 

[MSU]

Lets get real, Shane Vereen is most likely a bust. Good players find a way to make the field, even rookies in a small role. A guy that is suppose to have speed can't make it on our putrid KR unit, replace an old and slow Kevin Faulk, and somehow is completely incapable of supplanting Woodhead in blitz pickup. Vereen makes Lomo look like Adrian Peterson.

 

[Triumph]

Lets get real, Shane Vereen is most likely a bust. Good players find a way to make the field, even rookies in a small role. A guy that is suppose to have speed can't make it on our putrid KR unit, replace an old and slow Kevin Faulk, and somehow is completely incapable of supplanting Woodhead in blitz pickup. Vereen makes Lomo look like Adrian Peterson.

You must be kidding?

How can Vereen be a bust and like Koolaid when hes hardly been on the field? You have to earn playing time on BBs team.

Could it be that Faulk, Woody and Ridley are head of him at practice and in the classroom?

 

[MSU]

You must be kidding?

How can Vereen be a bust and like Koolaid when hes hardly been on the field? You have to earn playing time on BBs team.

Could it be that Faulk, Woody and Ridley are head of him at practice and in the classroom?

You ask me if I'm kidding and then your proceed to list reasons why he's moving to the bust category. Nice.

 

[Triumph]

You ask me if I'm kidding and then your proceed to list reasons why he's moving to the bust category. Nice.

The players ahead of him were already on the team.

Some players take longer to move up the depth chart. Ridley got it from day one and had an outstanding training camp thats just translated into the regular season. By your logic BJGE was a bust a couple of seasons ago because he rarely got on the field.

Vereen would really have to turn heads to move ahead of Faulk who knows the offense is his sleep and has Bradys and BB trust. Woodhead is fighting to get more playing time.

I sincerely doubt weve seen the last of Shane Vereen.

 

[supafly]

Lets get real, Shane Vereen is most likely a bust. Good players find a way to make the field, even rookies in a small role. A guy that is suppose to have speed can't make it on our putrid KR unit, replace an old and slow Kevin Faulk, and somehow is completely incapable of supplanting Woodhead in blitz pickup. Vereen makes Lomo look like Adrian Peterson.

Only time will tell obviously, but you've got to take everything into account too.

In a very crowded backfield with basically zero training camp due to injury, I'm not sure how you felt he'd play too much?

He can't pickup the blitz over Woodhead, b/c Woodhead is often in on the hurry-up and offers better results there. If that were the case, they'd have used anyone else this whole time. I'm sure it's more than obvious how putrid Woodhead is at stopping the attacking blitzer. (although mainly due to his size)

I think you'll get to see what Vereen has to offer, but it certainly wasn't going to come in the year that he was injured, went through the labor situation with no mini-camps, and had Faulk in his 'retiring' year send-off.

 

[MSU]

Only time will tell obviously, but you've got to take everything into account too.

In a very crowded backfield with basically zero training camp due to injury, I'm not sure how you felt he'd play too much?

He can't pickup the blitz over Woodhead, b/c Woodhead is often in on the hurry-up and offers better results there. If that were the case, they'd have used anyone else this whole time. I'm sure it's more than obvious how putrid Woodhead is at stopping the attacking blitzer. (although mainly due to his size)

I think you'll get to see what Vereen has to offer, but it certainly wasn't going to come in the year that he was injured, went through the labor situation with no mini-camps, and had Faulk in his 'retiring' year send-off.

Ugh, where have I heard this before?

Oh yeah, Taylor Price.

 

[roleplayer]

In the case of the Pats running game: the reason the Pats running game is ranked so high is because the quality of the Pats' passing game forces defenses to overplay the pass, providing opportunities for mediocre talent like BJGE to make positive plays.

The real evaluation of the pats run game will only come when the passing game is rendered ineffective, and the Pats must run to open up the pass. The Pats will face that test next week versus Baltimore. It will be the test that determines whether or not they go to the SB. I don't believe BJGE can pass that test. I believe Ridley has a chance to pass that test, and I believe the coaching staff thinks as I do. I believe they knew what they had in Ridley very early, even this preseason, and decided to keep his legs fresh for the stretch run and the playoffs, letting free agent to be BJGE take the pounding during the regular season, working Ridley gradually into the offense.

I believe Ridley will prove his mettle this week but especially next week versus Baltimore. And this thread will become a relic we can all look back on with a chuckle, saying, remember when we convinced ourselves Ridley should be BJGE's backup? Those were the days!

This.

Ever since I saw two or three Tampa Bay Buccaneers (I know...but still NFL players) getting up slowly after tackling Ridley during the second preseason game, I've been keeping an eye on the kid. He comes from a good LSU program, and played his college ball in the SEC while splitting time and not taking a pounding.

The folks saying he is not as "powerful" a runner as BJGE need to take a closer look, IMO. This kid is a bowling ball in cleats. Someone upthread mentioned his high yards-after-contact average, and there is a reason for that.

The fact that he is listed as 10 pounds heavier than BJGE, yet so many talk about his "wiggle" or speed, should tell you what a load he becomes in the secondary. Take a look at his thighs sometime. They're mini-treetrunks. And they were bred in the best college football conference in the land.

Don't get me wrong, I love Law Firm. I think we all have a soft spot for him, because he and his style came AFTER Maroney and his tap-dancing ways. We appreciated having someone who just went FORWARD for a change. That being said, there's a reason BJGE went undrafted, from a physical tools standpoint. He's made the most of his opportunity and talents, and still has a role on this team, but I really like the dimension that Ridley can give us.

He reminds me of another LSU Tiger. Spencer Ware.

Longtime lurker, first post. Go Pats ~

 

[PatriotFan77]

Is there any doubt he is our best RB?

I have some doubt Andy. The kid fumbles too much.

 

[PatriotReign]

He's fumbled twice. I think spending some time with law-firm will get him straightened out.

 

[letekro]

I have some doubt Andy. The kid fumbles too much.

It's too bad, becase watching BJGE "run" is just a painful experience. May let Ridley run it between the 20s?

 

[Fencer]

He's fumbled twice. I think spending some time with law-firm will get him straightened out.

He carried the ball with one arm into the teeth of three tacklers after he had time to think about what he was doing. Anybody can mess up like that -- and who was the coach with the knit hat consoling him on the sidelines? -- but if he repeats that kind of bonehead ball-security choice very often he WILL head to the doghouse quickly.

 

[Ring 6]

I have some doubt Andy. The kid fumbles too much.

That would be the only reason to have any doubt. There is a huge difference in how they run with the ball.

 

[Joker]

I watched the game with a bunch of friends and family...when Ridley fumbled on that gang tackle, the first thing out of my mouth was "It's the playoffs, kid!!!!NOT regular season anymore!!!"...and then watching his reaction going off the field, I felt MUCH better...this kid GETS it...and he's a talented running back...I'd be surprised if he takes the ball into a crowd like that next time without two handing the ball.

 

[Patriots Nation NY]

Ridley will never ever be seen ever again ...:bricks: