Perhaps it's the result of coming up against the Jacksonville Jaguars and lack of talking points in the game, but the chatter about Stevan Ridley's inability to protect the football and what his future holds is gaining steam.
Perhaps it's the result of coming up against the Jacksonville Jaguars and lack of talking points in the game, but the chatter about Stevan Ridley's inability to protect the football and what his future holds is gaining steam.
Some feel that Shane Vereen and Brandon Bolden should be given the opportunity to carry the load, while others have gone so far as to suggest that Ridley should be planted on the bench for the rest of the season the same way he was after fumbling in the season finale and again in the playoffs last year.
Neither option is likely a good one for the Patriots. Ridley has served as the workhorse of a revitalized running game and has 252 carries for 1,105 yards and 10 touchdowns. His efforts have led New England to the NFL's eighth best rushing attack, and it's likely not a coincidence that all four of its loses are also the only game where Pats have failed to reach 100 rushing yards.
But Ridley has also fumbled four times this season, two lost, and the latest essentially ended his day against the San Francisco 49ers during Sunday's loss, leading to idea that he will see a reduced role moving forward.
"If we're being careless and the carelessness is repetitive and the ball is obviously not protected, we need to address that as a ground," offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. "We need to address that and make sure that we try to fix it so that we don't hurt our team."
In some cases, those lost balls are the cost that must be paid to have a balanced offensive attack, gain yards on the ground and open things up for the passing game. Five of the league's top seven rushers have three or more fumbles --including Adrian Peterson (three), Marshawn Lynch (three) and Jamaal Charles (four) – and the tenth man on the list, former sure-handed New England running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, has coughed up the ball three times for the Bengals this season.
Even two of New England's favorite running backs had issues with ball protection. Corey Dillon fumbled five times in 2004, and Kevin Faulk coughed up the ball six times in 2000 on 215 touches.
When you put the ball in someone's hands 20 or more times and let the other team beat on him, fumbles occur. That's what happened on his second fumble of the season on Oct. 7 when he lost the ball on his 28th carry of the day against the Denver Broncos. He made far fewer carries against San Francisco (nine), but Donte Whitner knocked the rain-soaked ball loose when he placed his helmet on the ball.
Ridley refused to use the rain as an excuse and explained his frustrations with the play after Sunday's game.
"No one is harder on myself than me," he said. "Nobody is more upset when I fumble than Stevan is. For me, I just have to keep working. ... I have to do better in game situations holding onto the football."
Coughing up the ball in consecutive weeks is cause for concern, but not giving Ridley a chance to redeem himself would be a drastic step and one that could be potentially harmful to the offense.
Ridley is fifth in the league with 15 runs of 15 or more yards this season. While Green-Ellis never fumbled in a Patriots uniform, he had 13 total runs of 15 or more yards during his two seasons as the lead running back.
With teams forced to respect Ridley's presence, quarterback Tom Brady has benefitted in the passing game, where he's completed 84 of 135 passes for 1,185 yards following a play-action fake.
Giving up on Ridley and turning to likes of Vereen (one fumble) or Bolden would mean potentially sacrificing an entire element of the offense.