Running Backs

[Southieinnc]

Develin - Fullback, tight end, halfback, receiver. Lock to make the team.
Bolden - Lots of upside, can catch passes, I think he gets a chance to show he can stay healthy
Ridley - Looked pretty good against 1st string His job is safe until regular season
Tyler Gaffney - Do we IR him?
Roy Finch might make the team as a kick returner?
Shane Vereen - Seems safe to me...
James White - Is well liked, has upside, still learning, safe at this time, needs 2 more games
Jonas Gray looked great. I think he gets some 1st string time against Carolina....

Could we keep 6 guys at the start of the season?

 

[BigKen]

If I hd to keep 5 I'd keep:
Develin....versitile can also play TE
Bolden....Runs hard and will do what it takes to get the necessary yards
Gray.....This guy is a tank on steroids. He had to have averaged 7 yards a carry last night.
Finch....He's got good moves and will be the KO return guy.
Vareen....he's the pass catcher in the screen and can get downfield.

That leaves Ridley who fumbled again last night. When you know you have a problem, you do whatever is necessary to correct it. He got the ball easily ripped out last night.
White just can't seem to find a way to get outside or find a hole. is the nFL and your not going up against 5th stringers.

 

[Southieinnc]

If I hd to keep 5 I'd keep:
Develin....versitile can also play TE
Bolden....Runs hard and will do what it takes to get the necessary yards
Gray.....This guy is a tank on steroids. He had to have averaged 7 yards a carry last night.
Finch....He's got good moves and will be the KO return guy.
Vareen....he's the pass catcher in the screen and can get downfield.

That leaves Ridley who fumbled again last night. When you know you have a problem, you do whatever is necessary to correct it. He got the ball easily ripped out last night.
White just can't seem to find a way to get outside or find a hole. is the nFL and your not going up against 5th stringers.

Gray can catch too. Showed it in college.
White will perform on plays designed to succeed. The vanilla offense against 1st string defense held him back.

 

[lasvegasb/tcha$$]

I remember getting alot of shit in game 1last year,saying to cut ridley then.i dont like him not just because of the fumbles,but he just doesnt get those 3yards when you have to get them

 

[SDGuy73]

I remember getting alot of shit in game 1last year,saying to cut ridley then.i dont like him not just because of the fumbles,but he just doesnt get those 3yards when you have to get them

I like the guy. He has a ton of talent. He gets big chunks of yards. He runs hard.
But yes, he isn't a short yard back.

 

[BigKen]

Ivan Fears will have a ton of input with BB. More than the preseason games will be the measure. He works withy the backs much the same as Dante Scarrneccia worked with the offensive line. I really wouldn't want to have to be the guy telling BB who has to go. This stable of backs is very talented and I'm sure Fears knows each guys weakness. The important thing is how their working to strengthen and/or eliminate those weaknesses.

I like Ridley and always have been a supporter, but I don't know of his fumbles are because he has small hands, a weak wrist, a weak fore arm or just can't hold the ball against his body. In my 38 years of coaching I've had kids with one or more of these problems and had to find other spots for them. In the NFL you don't get switched from running back to safety because the team needs a body at safety. You have to get in the weight room and bust your butt lifting, stretching and rebuilding the weakness. You can't make your hand grow so you have to make it stronger. I can't imagine he hasn't done something in an attempt to at least get the vision out of his head.

Like I've said, I think the cut down days could have some shockers.....

 

[lasvegasb/tcha$$]

Trust me,i want to like him,i just cant

 

[Southieinnc]

If you take away his one good run against Carolina, Ridley has 14 yards on 7 carries with 1st string blocking
Bolden not playing can't be good
White is versatile but I don't believe he has shown enough to make the team
Gray could replace Bolden
Finch looks to special teams???
Carolina was tough on our RB's as expected. Nobody played particularly well with any consistency...

 

[BigKen]

Gray played with the first team offense against the Panthers and gained yardage every time he ran inside. The OL got lazy on a couple of plays and he got stuffed, but overall he was the best of the RBs other than Vareen. I really believe Gray has played his way onto the roster. I think Ridley will stay now because he finally kept the ball against his body.

I think Bolden is gone, because he never got on the field.

Some of these guys might get the ax on Tuesday.

 

[Southieinnc]

Gray played with the first team offense against the Panthers and gained yardage every time he ran inside. The OL got lazy on a couple of plays and he got stuffed, but overall he was the best of the RBs other than Vareen. I really believe Gray has played his way onto the roster. I think Ridley will stay now because he finally kept the ball against his body.

I think Bolden is gone, because he never got on the field.

Some of these guys might get the ax on Tuesday.

Now we have it:
Develin, Vereen, Bolden, Ridley, White are in.
Finch to the PS
Gaffney IR'd
Gray to the PS temporarily. He showed a lot in pre-season but some inconsistency also. He just needs some more practice and coaching. I think he kicks out Bolden, Ridley or White if one of these falters...

 

[TxHeat]

Now we have it:
Develin, Vereen, Bolden, Ridley, White are in.
Finch to the PS
Gaffney IR'd
Gray to the PS temporarily. He showed a lot in pre-season but some inconsistency also. He just needs some more practice and coaching. I think he kicks out Bolden, Ridley or White if one of these falters...

Not another season with Butterfingers Ridley?

 

[JasonCarrier]

Not another season with Butterfingers Ridley?

Do you know who had more fumbles then Ridley last year?

AP

Did you know who had more fumbles in their first 3 years?

AP

You have to get down to attempts to even get Ridley in the top 10 and even then he is tied for 10th.

Check out Bleacher Report and what they had on his "fumble issues"

 

[SDGuy73]

Do you know who had more fumbles then Ridley last year?

AP

Did you know who had more fumbles in their first 3 years?

AP

You have to get down to attempts to even get Ridley in the top 10 and even then he is tied for 10th.

Check out Bleacher Report and what they had on his "fumble issues"

I agree. Ridley vhad 4 fumbles last year. That isn't a lot but of course we want less.

 

[Southieinnc]

Do you know who had more fumbles then Ridley last year?

AP

Did you know who had more fumbles in their first 3 years?

AP

You have to get down to attempts to even get Ridley in the top 10 and even then he is tied for 10th.

Check out Bleacher Report and what they had on his "fumble issues"

The issue I have with Ridley is not just the fumbles.
When he "tightens up" on the ball, he tightens up his ass too! He does not get the same yards when he is protecting the ball as when he is running loose.

 

[Shoeshine Boy]

So it's bad when he fumbles, and it's bad when he protects the ball?

 

[Southieinnc]

So it's bad when he fumbles, and it's bad when he protects the ball?

I would rather he fumbled 4 times a year and got 1500 yards rushing.....

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

Do you know who had more fumbles then Ridley last year?

AP

Did you know who had more fumbles in their first 3 years?

AP

You have to get down to attempts to even get Ridley in the top 10 and even then he is tied for 10th.

Check out Bleacher Report and what they had on his "fumble issues"

Got a link? I own Ridley and Vereen in fantasy and am doing a little research on his value in case I want to trade him.

 

[Yankee Traveler]

Do you know who had more fumbles then Ridley last year?

AP

Did you know who had more fumbles in their first 3 years?

AP

You have to get down to attempts to even get Ridley in the top 10 and even then he is tied for 10th.

Check out Bleacher Report and what they had on his "fumble issues"

Never compare yourself to the next guy.
I do not care how many fumbles AP had. He plays for somebody else. I care how many Steven Ridley had because he plays for the Patriots. Steven Ridley should not aim to have "FEWER" fumbles than Adrian Peterson or any other player on any team, Patriots or otherwise. He needs to aim for zero fumbles regardless of how everybody else does.

 

[Yankee Traveler]

So it's bad when he fumbles, and it's bad when he protects the ball?

And it's even worse when he does not even attempt to recover the fumble.

 

[Shoeshine Boy]

I would rather he fumbled 4 times a year and got 1500 yards rushing.....

Gotcha. Same here. Unfortunately for Ridley, he plays for a coach who would rather he get stapled to the end of the bench when he fumbles one time. RB's fumble. Especially early in their careers. Kevin Faulk was a big-time fumbler and got better. So did Tiki Barber. Walter Payton was a goddam fumbling machine early in his career. Hell, even Law Firm, forever revered by Pats fans for never fumbling when he played here, put the ball on the ground 5 times the last two years. It's obviously never a good thing when it happens, but the idea that fumbling is somehow a uniquely Stevan Ridley problem is absurd.