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Two roster spots is not "zilch". If game 1 is any indication, neither is likely to have much value this year unless BJGE or Woodhead gets injured.
I have the opportunity to do the same, but I don't want it to be a ASK for help topic, I think it's a legitimate question. 2nd round picks and even 3rd round picks are given shots. BJGE and Woodhead are OK, but neither are certain to continue in their roles.Initally Ridley had the shot to separate due to vereen's injury, but from all reports both are healthy. I think I am leaning towards Vereen as the guy to have, but it's only a guess.Would love to hear from Yudkin as well.
If they are given shots, and both are healthy, why did neither see the field on Sunday? Something does not compute. Maybe picks outside the top picks don't get guaranteed anything anymore. Particularly now when the #1 pick only gets like $24 mill guaranteed. According to Gian, even 2nd rounders aren't guaranteed squat historically, even more so now that the signing bonuses for rookies are so low compared to previous years.They may get shots, but imo they only do so by earning it, not by their draft position.
Green-Ellis may be pedestrian, but he gives NE what they need from the position. Good in pass protection, probably the #1 criteria for getting on the field in NE, holds on to the ball, gets the tough yards. This is a past first, pass second and pass third offense, and they haven't shown any propensity to try to become a dominant run offense that would want/need a top-tier RB. They use the pass to set up the run, getting defenses in nickle and dime and run to take advantage of what the defense gives them. Their effectiveness in the run game comes from a good O Line and keeping defenses off-balance.At 4+ ypc, Green-Ellis may not be sexy, but he moves the chains when called upon. I agree with Yudkin, the rooks won't see much time this year without injury to one of Green-Ellis or Woodhead.For those thinking that Vereen & Ridley's draft position indicates they feel they need to replace these guys, remember that they just cut a young, 1st round, Pro Bowl saftey in Meriweather for Josh Barret, a 4th year guy ( 7th rd ) and Sergio Brown ( UDFA ). NE doesn't do things like the rest of the league, applying conventional wisdom to how they'll make decisions is an exercise in futility and frustration.
Is Law Firm even the starter? Seems like its Woodheads gig right now.
Great insight here. No nuance is needed in such a black and white situation. Bravo!
I'd expect Woodhead to see the majority of snaps when they run no-huddle like they did against MIA on Monday. I was somewhat surprised to see them come out throwing with a 2 score lead and 10 minutes on the clock, and again with 3+ left. That was where I would expect to see a heavy dose of Green-Ellis, to burn clock and move the chains.
It's an older quote but:ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss considers second-rounder Shane Vereen the lone "all-around back" in New England's backfield.BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Stevan Ridley are "pounders" best used in short-yardage and clock-killing situations while Danny Woodhead is restricted to passing downs. Vereen is the high football IQ "swiss-army knife" who can play in any situation. Reiss calls Vereen his favorite of all the Pats draft picks and the best fit among all of the running back prospects.-------------------------------------------Just saying.
Out of all possible outcomes, I'd bet on this.
To pigeon-hole Ridley into a role like "pounder" is a not doing him justice. He is also a good receiver and blocker, can make people miss, and has speed. Vereen is talented and probably capable of more "wow" plays, but he is not a great between the tackles runner. That is not an "all-around back" to me.
So Ridley's two decent preseason outings against guys that aren't even in the NFL should give him an advantage? Neither rookie practiced much, so I am not sure one guy is ahead of the other. They both have zero NFL game day carries.As far as Woodhead goes, he's had 4 games with 10 or more carries since coming to the Pats and none with 15 or more. In 4 years of college, he averaged nearly 26 carries a game (albeit against guys that never sniffed the NFL). He had 2,756 rushing yards in his junior year.
Kind of a bold statement since out of all of them Woodhead had the best college career and since they have been in the NFL Danny has also been the best. BJGE had a great year last year, I expect him to be the goal line back for at least till the end of this year, but Danny is easily the most talented and has the most utility, ergo he will be on the field more.
Yes, I think Ridley's strong pre-season has to give him the advantage over Vereen who we really didn't see at all in the pre-season. The consensus coming out of the draft with regard to Ridley and Vereen was Ridley was more of a banger between the tackle type and Vereen was more of a 3rd down pass receiving type. However, Ridley ran very well and had 10 recs in the 2 games he played (Benny had 17 all of last year). Imo Ridley demonstrated that he can catch the ball and he can run (inside & out). Obviously Vereen was drafted higher, but he hasn't been on the field at all so he hasn't had the opportunity to demonstrate what he can do. Vereen could end up being a terrific 3rd down or all around back, but I haven't seen him play at all so it is hard to venture a guess. As for Woodhead, he had 14 carries last week and that is way, way too many. Woodhead is the 3rd down back playing the Kevin Faulk role and 14 carries is at least twice as many as he should have. Look at Faulk's carries over the last 5 years and even the last ten years and tell me I am wrong. I believe Woodhead is special, but Faulk is (was) built a lot more sturdy than Woodhead and Faulk couldn't take that type of punishment. If only they had someone they could bring in that could both run and catch to lighten the load; someone like Ridley perhaps..........'David Yudkin said:
+1More playing time for Danny please.
I have Ridley stashed on my bench in my 12 team 18 roster spot league.I certainly have hopes that he assumes a larger role over the course of the season and is playable come FF playoff time. Will it happen? Your guess is as good as mine.
