What to do with Stevan Ridley? The New England Patriots running back has a bad case of fumblitis and he cannot seem to find a cure for the disease. Once again, Ridley found himself benched for coughing up the ball during the game against the Denver Broncos and the now he and the rest of the Patriots must figure out the best plan of action.
Ridley has four fumbles for losses to his name this season, something that does not sit well with head coach Bill Belichick. The head coach has clearly lost his patience with the third-year running back, benching him after his fourth carry on Monday night. Ridley never returned to the game.
"Ball security is the paramount issue for your football team every week, our football team every week,'' Belichick said, via the Boston Globe. ''We fumbled the ball, whatever it was, six times last night. We can't go on like that. We just can't. There were multiple situations and multiple things involved and it hurt us the week before in Carolina. We're just not going to be able to overcome turning the ball over, however you turn it over. Whether it's fumbles or interceptions or muffed punts or tipped interceptions, whatever it is, fumbled snaps - we just can't overcome those, not for very long."
Ridley noted that his performance on Monday was "borderline disgusting" and he needed to figure out exactly how to solve things. Ridley told reporters that he plans on reaching out to former Patriots Kevin Faulk to help his fumble issues. The former LSU product went through his own fair share of fumbling issues, but was able to find a cure.
Quarterback Tom Brady is confident that Ridley can work things out. He noted that the team has plenty of confidence in the running back and would stand behind him during the issues.
"We've got a lot of confidence in him. I know it sucks for him. He makes some really good runs to start the game, and then it's knocked out. It's just part of the learning experience,'' Brady said, via WEEI radio. "You just keep going with it, you keep getting cracks at it, you keep working hard at it. He'll work hard. He's a tough kid, he's a fighter. We're going to need him down the stretch."
In the meantime, LeGarrette Blount could really see a lot of playing time. Out of the remaining Patriots backs, he has the most yardage to his name with 374 yards on the season, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. While he has fumbled twice this season, his numbers look better than Ridley's.