FOXBOROUGH -- Stevan Ridley learned the hard way as a rookie. Hold on to the ball or grab a seat on the bench.
His fumble in the third quarter of the New England Patriots’ divisional playoff win over the Denver Broncos was the final time he got the ball last season. He didn’t suit up for the AFC title game and was in uniform for the Super Bowl, but didn’t play.
"Being sat down [for] the AFC championship’s pretty much a lesson learned for me," Ridley said. "Yeah, I learned my lesson from that. I’m trying not to repeat the same mistakes."
With a renewed focus on holding the ball high and tight with two hands, he’s off to a good start this season as the Patriots’ new top running back.
In the first game of his second season, he rushed 21 times for 125 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for 27 yards. That’s a total of 23 touches, 152 yards, one touchdown -- and no fumbles.
Ridley actually fumbled in consecutive games as a rookie. In the season finale against the Buffalo Bills, he gained 13 yards on a run before the ball was knocked loose and rolled out of bounds. The Patriots kept possession then, but the playoff bobble was recovered by the Broncos, although the Patriots led 42-7 at the time.
"That wasn’t the first fumble I had. I hope it was the last one I’ll have, but what are the chances of that?" he said Wednesday before practice for the
The Patriots drafted Ridley in the third round from LSU. He learned for a year while contributing 441 yards on 87 carries as the backup to BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Then Green-Ellis, who didn’t fumble a single time in four seasons with the Patriots, signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Bengals.
So far Ridley is making the most of his second chance.
He’s shiftier and quicker than Green-Ellis. But he still has the strength to take on large defenders. He bounced off potential tacklers several times to pick up extra yardage in last Sunday’s 34-13 win over the Tennessee Titans.
"You can’t play the position being scared and you’re going to take a lot of contact," he said, "but, as a runner, you can try to deliver the blow instead of taking the hit. I think that your career might last a little bit longer. So that’s kind of my philosophy of running the ball. I’m trying to get downhill, man. Just deliver the punch instead of taking all the beatings."
Font Resize
