The New England Patriots are preparing for a switch up at the running back position after injuries have hit the position group hard. Already dealing with the losses of Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola, the Patriots cannot afford to lose any more offensive players. With Sunday quickly approaching, top running back Stevan Ridley has missed his third-straight practice, putting his Sunday status in question.
The Patriots have benefitted from a deep backfield through four games this season, but that is suddenly disappearing as both Ridley and Brandon Bolden has injuries to deal with. Ridley has been out all week with a mysterious knee and thigh injury. Naturally, Bill Belichick is not offering up any details but ESPN's Mike Reiss reports that Ridley could possibly be out against the Cincinnati Bengals. To make matters worse, Bolden has been limited in practice with a knee injury meaning his time on the field could be slim.
With two players ailing in front of him, Week 5 could be big for LeGarrette Blount. Replacing Ridley might not be that hard. As of now, he is the leading rushed on the team with 174 yards, putting up a team-high 11 carries last Sunday. So far this year, Blount has 155 yards on 34 carries and one touchdown.
The issue with Blount is that he is not very versatile. The running back is an aggressive, down-field rusher, but is not much of a pass-catching back. He has yet to record any receiving yards this season. Last year with Tampa Bay, he caught one pass for two yards. Blount does have plenty of experiencing being a lead back. He handled most of the ground work with Tampa Bay, putting up 1,007 yards in 2010 and 781 yards in 2011. He could get plenty of the carries on Sunday, but do not expect him to have any passing yards.
The Patriots have added wide receiver Austin Collie to the roster this season in hopes of helping Tom Brady out a little bit. The injury prone receiver could be a nice weapon for the quarterback, but after just a few days of practice with the team, the chemistry might not be there yet. Expect Brady to continue relying on the ground game as a solid option this week.
