Rookie RB Ridley helps Pats balance their offense
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. (AP)
October 3, 2011
After three weeks of Tom Brady's record-setting passing, the Patriots
finally put some balance into their offense.
And much of it came from a surprising source, rookie running back
Stevan Ridley.
The third-round draft pick from LSU burst through holes then outraced
defenders, gaining a team-high 97 yards on just 10 rushes in New
England's 31-19 win at the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. He ran 33 yards
for a touchdown and picked up 20 and 25 yards on two other carries.
''It's backyard football to me,'' Ridley said Monday. ''I go out there
and when I see a hole or see a crease I'm just hitting it wide open. In
the pros, it's small sometimes, but sometimes it's big, so you just
have to go out there and just trust your eyes and trust your vision and
let the rest take care of itself.''
In college, he started just nine of the 39 games he played. Then he
joined an offense led by a quarterback who was named unanimously as
last season's NFL most valuable player. This season, Brady set a league
record for most yards passing in a three-game stretch with 1,327.
But coach Bill Belichick wanted more balance.
He got it in Oakland when the Patriots had 30 runs and 30 passes. They
gained 183 yards on the ground and 226 through the air, 161 fewer than
Brady's previous low for the season.
Still, Belichick was pleased.
''I thought this was maybe Brady's best game in terms of some of the
checks he made, some of the adjustments, where he went with the ball,
his decision-making, his overall management of the game,'' Belichick
said. ''Obviously, he has played well, but I thought he really did a
good job (Sunday).''
That was to be expected. What Ridley did wasn't.
He probably got extra playing time because Danny Woodhead left late in
the first half with an apparent left ankle injury and didn't return.
Ridley and BenJarvus Green-Ellis, with 75 yards on 16 attempts, got
most of the carries.
''Ridley and Benny both made some guys miss, broke tackles, and took
five, 10, 12-yard gains and took them into a little bit more than
that,'' Belichick said.
The Patriots most balanced attack of the season improved their record
to 3-1 and caused problems for the Raiders.
''It was huge,'' Brady said. ''When you see us run the ball in from
(the 33-) yard line, that was huge. That's important. It sets up a lot
of things. If (defenses) can't stop the run, then you're just going to
keep running it and you're going to control the entire tempo of the
game.''
As usual, Belichick provided no update Monday on injured players. Star
linebacker Jerod Mayo reportedly hurt the medial collateral ligament in
his left knee midway through the second quarter and is expected to miss
at least several games.
''I'm not going to guess at'' how long Mayo will be sidelined,
Belichick said.
Gary Guyton, a four-year veteran, was Mayo's primary replacement.
Ridley was Woodhead's. The rookie even feels comfortable catching
passes, one of Woodhead's strengths.
''Every back's got to be able to go in there and pull each other's load
when one of us goes down,'' Ridley said.
That's true for every position. At right tackle, rookie Nate Solder, a
first-round pick, has played well in place of injured Sebastian Vollmer
on a line that has new starters at three spots.
''It just seems like that offensive line has been together for a good
while, with the green grass that I'm seeing when I'm coming through the
line,'' Ridley said. ''Tom always does a great job in the passing game
and our receivers are blocking downfield as well as making the catches.
So, really, our offense is complimenting each other.''
Linebacker Dane Fletcher, who made the team as a rookie free agent last
year, is filling in on defense and offense. He should get more playing
time at linebacker while Mayo recovers and has gotten plays at
fullback, a job Belichick sprung on him not long ago.
''Maybe he said it like the first game or that game week,'' Fletcher
said. ''They tell me to go run my face into some people, I'll do it.''
One of his blocks helped Green-Ellis score on a 1-yard run midway
through the second quarter when the Patriots went ahead 14-10.
It didn't take Fletcher much time to learn his new duties.
''I don't have as many things as Brady has going on in his head,'' he
said.
So anything Brady's teammates can do to pick up the slack for him -
like moving the ball on the ground - should help.
Even if it comes from a rookie playing just his fourth pro game.
''I really wouldn't say I pick up the load for Tom because Tom's got a
big load on his shoulders,'' Ridley said. ''When they call my number,
just make a play and make a positive play at that. So I'm just a rookie
right now.
''And I'm still just learning.''
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