Stevan Ridley....

[Big-T]

The second fumble was a perfectly placed hit that jarred the ball loose. I'm really not sure how he was supposed to prevent that. And singling him out when the offense as a whole turned the ball over all throughout the first half doesn't make sense to me either. Methinks you need to calm down a little.

It wouldn't have been jarred loose if he held the ball closer to his body but there's daylight between the ball and his body when he carries, that's just asking for defenders to knock it loose.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

jesues people...a guy fumbles and all of sudden he sucks to many..hell two of my friends want to bench him now...have no idea what they are talking about

 

[PP2]

jesues people...a guy fumbles and all of sudden he sucks to many..hell two of my friends want to bench him now...have no idea what they are talking about

It's not just about last night, it's about last week as well. Also last year he fumbled a few times near the end of the season.

 

[Kontradiction]

It wouldn't have been jarred loose if he held the ball closer to his body but there's daylight between the ball and his body when he carries, that's just asking for defenders to knock it loose.

Perhaps you can supply a replay link or even a .GIF that shows that? I've looked at the replays pretty extensively since last night (couldn't sleep after that one), and I haven't seen anything that remotely suggests he's holding the ball like a loaf of bread. He was holding it high and tight. Helmet on the ball in those conditions, and then a fumble.

 

[Ivan]

The day after threads have become like the game threads, knee jerk overreactions to anything that happened. All of the RB's have recent drops, that's an unfortunate part of the game, and after a season long record of protecting the ball they are making some mistakes, however you can't throw the baby out with the bathwater and at a certain point you have to trust that the players who performed well all season will deliver in the tournament. Even Brady has multiple turnover games, and they don't go to Mallett when he does. Belichick simply needs to reinforce the fundamentals over the next few weeks and get them all ready for January. It's time to stand by this team and have some confidence in it, not run shrieking for replacements. imo the same guys who made mistakes last night are going to shine in the play-offs and deliver for this team. We will see how it all plays out but I have a hard time losing faith in a team that has performed as well as the Patriots have this season.

 

[Ian]

Perhaps you can supply a replay link or even a .GIF that shows that? I've looked at the replays pretty extensively since last night (couldn't sleep after that one), and I haven't seen anything that remotely suggests he's holding the ball like a loaf of bread. He was holding it high and tight. Helmet on the ball in those conditions, and then a fumble.

Just rewatched it. Your summation is basically dead on. Perfect hit in bad conditions. Not much else he could have done.

He had one fumble. The one he had in early on was basically after he let go of it after he was already down. Overall they had two fumbles and both were lost, one by him and one by Vereen.

People need to relax a little. It was an ugly game where the 49ers came in on a mission and they didn't match their intensity until late in the game and unfortunately then it was too little, too late. Bedard said it best this morning. Better now than in January - although last night's loss will make an impact on where they're playing.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I'll defer to tom Brady (from Ian's press conference thread/post).



Tough conditions and the second fumble was a perfect helmet on the ball but...those are excuses. Ridley and Vareen are going to have to decide no one is taking it away. They also need eyes in the back of their heads and know when the play is over to turtle up.

Mental toughness. Woodhead had it today, enough to win if other mistakes didn't happen. Noticed Wilfork give him a good tap on the sidelines. We've got a pretty good core and some guys that need to step up. Bolden's been out, he'll be back in the rotation.

Two more games. It's not about talent at this point, it's who's mentally tough, focused, reliable. TB, Welker, Wilfork, Spikes, Mayo I feel are there. Lots of others need to step up IMO, though they have flashed they aren't in that core.

Woodhead, though limited, seems to be making a bid. You never know who's going to come through, look at 2001. Wiggins and JR Redmond come to mind.

I think Ridley's going to be fine, but it's up to him, he needs to focus these last two games and quit sulking.

Woodhead doesn't get nearly enough credit here, or apparently where it matters. His performance last February remains overlooked. If it were all about talent lots of teams would have Lombardi's and we likely wouldn't.

I worry about Ahern too for all his potential schematic upside - his focus has been intermittent at best all along. There is a reason Brady was said to be riding both young TE's all last season and that is it. God knows they have talent. If I'd have extended them both I'd have given them both the option deal Gronkowski got because neither has established yet they are singularly $8M performers this team can count on for the next several seasons. Durability and focus remain issues for both from game to game and often from series to series.

Bill used to take a lot of grief for his penchant for the veteran with less upside... After 30+ years in the league there was a reason for that penchant. This season he made a choice at lots of spots including RB and he's going to have to live with it. Chose potential over predictable. Can't bench 'em. Been there done that.