It's an old Bill Belichick axiom that whoever has the football is carrying the fate of the franchise in their hands - and while it's true that in football things like getting knocked out and being blindsided are going to happen, it is equally true that runners must do everything in their power to protect the ball - in Ridley's case, the solution is easy: Just run.
Ridley is an explosive back. He runs with power through the hole, but also will get big when trying to cut to avoid a tackler, and that's when the ball is exposed. Ridley is not a nimble guy, he is a power back that needs to play like a power back: Hit the hole, keep both hands on the ball and deliver the hit on the tackler, not the other way around.
This has been an issue for Ridley since arriving in the National Football League three years ago and Christopher Price of WEEI.com breaks down his struggles as compared to other fumble prone backs that Belichick has dealt with in his tenure as head coach and Andy Gresh of CSNNE.com offers a solution to Ridley's fumbling woes...
...but the simple fact of the matter is that Ridley's issue has less to do with elbow sleeves and a perceived lack of confidence, and more to do with form over function.
Price dabbles in this by mentioning that Corey Dillon, BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead all were excellent with ball security, which is true, but there's a reason why they were excellent at it and it goes beyond wrapping up.
“Look, there are some plays that happen in football that are plays that happen in football." Belichick said on WEEI on Monday, alluding to Troy Polumalu stripping the ball from Ridley in the Steelers' game just prior to the bye break, "Then there are other plays that are caused by a lack of discipline, a lack of technique, just carelessness. Those are the ones we have to eliminate.”
What Ridley is mired in is a lack of discipline, which fosters poor technique, which is where the carelessness comes into play.
Discipline, in the case of Ridley, is hitting the hole that your offensive line creates for you and finishing the run by getting small and delivering punishment to the defender who dares get in your way. Where Ridley gets in trouble is when he tries to make the extra effort to get more than what is there - he gets big, tries to cut or spin instead of gaining his extra yards by plowing into the tackler...
...which more times than not will leave the ball exposed outside of the frame of his body and, if contact is made with the ball at this instant - well - pop goes the weasel.
When you are initiating the contact with the defender, you are in charge, you are delivering the punishment and, most importantly, the defender can't make a play on the ball because it's not exposed and because the defender is more concerned with the shot that he's about to take - and he may even find that the extra effort in that respect will turn into the extra yardage he desires.
So, Stevan Ridley must be more aggressive, not more careful. He carries the ball high and tight - that is, until he tries to make a move to avoid contact.
Punish the tackler, and ball security improves. It's fundamental football.
Rushing offense: B
Ridley was on the bench before he really ever got started. Blount, too, though his fumble was mostly the result of taking vicious shot to the ear hole and briefly losing consciousness.
Brady lost the ball too, but it's not like Belichick is going to bench his star quarterback - besides, Brady has earned his stripes over the years and he doesn't have a proven commodity as a backup that would have given the Patriots their best chance to succeed.
In their stead, Brandon Bolden has a fantastic game with several key runs and Shane Vereen is an emerging star. The Patriots are deep at running back, and this game proved that.
It's not all about stats, it's about timing and true grit - and Bolden and Vereen were chalk full of both, as were the offensive linemen, particularly swing tackle Will Svitek, the third layer on the Patriots offensive tackle depth chart who teamed with the tight ends to open holes for the backs when they were truly needed.
Passing offense: A
Sunday night was Tom Brady's signature performance of his Hall of Fame career.
Not just because of the comeback, we've seen him do that many times in the past - it was the way that he did it.
Bill Belichick has alluded to the fact that one of the reasons that he selects the players that he does is that he feels that their abilities conform to the meteorological conditions that are indigenous to New England - cold and wind and plenty of both - so when he was looking for his quarterback of the future in the 2000 NFL draft, he was looking for developmental prospect and was considering Bardy and Louisiana Tech's Tim Rattay...
...choosing Brady due to his arm strength and huge hands that could envelop the ball - necessary qualities for throwing tight spirals in high winds and other harsh conditions.
And once the Patriots as a whole got a firm grip on the ball, the score was 24-0 in favor of Denver - Brady was able to go to work. And it both a thing of beauty and the stuff of legend.
Going into the steady 25 mile per hour wind, Brady went on a tear like only he could - leading three touchdown drives in which his combined total stats would be tough to accomplish on a clear, calm evening, going 12 of 14 for 163 yards to get his team to within three points at 24-21 before the Broncos knew what hit them.
And all the more amazing is that his offensive line was able to protect him despite the fact that the Broncos' pass rush had their ears pinned back and were coming after him.
Julian Edelman had a chip on his shoulder to prove himself on the same stage as his mentor, former Patriots receiver Wes Welker, and thoroughly outplayed the broncos' leading receiver, while tight end Rob Gronkowski had Broncos' players on his shoulders and dragged them along like they were so many rag dolls.
Vereen made most of his contributions in the passing game, though the soft cast he's wearing to protect his wrist as it continues to heal appears to be cumbersome to him when lining up to the left of the formation - perhaps offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels would be wise to match him up somewhere else in the formation so that the cast doesn't come into play as being the first thing the ball hits...
...that considered, and despite the ugly first half, the "A" grade is very well deserved.
Photo Credit - Keith Nordstrom/New England Patriots
http://www.nepatriotslife.com/2013/11/patriots-offensive-grades-week-12-form.html
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