No matter how long you have followed the NFL, it is always surprising to see how quickly a player can rise and fall in the public eye. Patriots running back Stevan Ridley is currently about as low as any player can get after costly fumbles in three straight games which resulted in his benching from Sunday’s game in Houston. With a quarter of the regular season remaining plus at least one playoff game, it is amazing to think that one of last season’s breakout stars is now fighting for his career in New England.
Coming off an impressive 2012 season where he tallied 1263 yards, 12 touchdowns and only fumbled 4 times, Ridley was touted as a secret weapon in the Patriots offense.
While the fumbling issues that had played him since his college days had not been completely eradicated, the hope was that Ivan Fears, his position coach, had been able to limit them. Things were looking promising in the season opener with Ridley rushing for 46 yards on 9 carries before a costly fumble ended his day. Not the way to start your season and his day was done.
In that game Ridley had an earlier fumble negated by a replay and the drops clearly threw his confidence. In the following games against the Jets, Buccaneers and Falcons, Ridley was hesitant hitting the hole. After missing the Bengals trip through injury, he returned against the Saints and he slowly began to regain the coaches’ trust by gaining yards and holding onto the ball. Just before the bye against Pittsburgh he fumbled again, something Belichick surprisingly defended him for crediting Troy Polamalu with making a tough, hustle play. Two more fumbles against the Panthers and Broncos, the latter being returned for a score and Ridley was a healthy scratch against the Texans.
Now comes the biggest test of Ridley’s career to this point, keeping his job in New England. While other teams would love to have him on their roster if they had the chance, his fumbling concerns would give them a reason to be hesitant. One interesting note from Sunday’s game, every time Ridley was pictured on the sideline he was holding onto the ball. He knows it is an issue that needs to be fixed and will need to put in a lot of work to do so.
With other talented backs on the roster, Ridley is now in a fight for playing time. Patriots fans were spoiled by his predecessor BenJarvus Green-Ellis who never fumbled as a Patriots player and now they expect the same from every back. Ridley is a more dynamic back than the lawfirm was, capable of breaking runs longer than 6 or 7 yards but that comes with the risk of a turnover. Over the next few weeks it will be interesting to see if he can work his way out of the doghouse and what that will mean for his long term future.
If you want to tell James that he is a genius (or an idiot) you can find him on Twitter under the name @jcaughlin12
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