Stevan Ridley has to hold on to what he's got

Tom E. Curran, CSNNE.com:

Having Stevan Ridley at running back must be like living on the San Andreas Fault.

One second, everything’s perfect, the next...disaster. And the aftershocks just keep coming.

Friday night, fumble-prone Stevan Ridley – after about 20 days of dropless football carrying – had the ball torn loose on a run late in the first half.

The Patriots recovered. And the replay showed that Ridley was probably down before the ball popped loose. But people get jumpy when Ridley finishes a run without the ball in his hands because the initial fumble is sometimes followed by a series of aftershocks.

It is the best call when ESPN's Chris Berman says “it’s a fumble”. It has to be the worst when the culprit is New England Patriots RB, Stevan Ridley. There is nothing to discuss. There is no debate. There is just the bench to keep Stevan company for the rest of the game.

The average football weighs between 14-16 oz. When carried properly, it is light as a feather. When dropped on the ground, the weight is unbearable. Entering his fourth season with the Patriots, there is nobody on the team that worries more about the pigskin than Stevan. Bill Belichick might run a close second on that.

Nine carries for 45 is a pretty solid performance. If one were to keep up that pace of five yards per carry, they would erect a bust in Canton for you.

Stevan Ridley was a third round choice in 2010 from Louisiana State University (LSU). He is in his contract year with the Patriots. According to Curran, "the entire league knows his rep is that he’s got the drops and he’s got ‘em bad".

There is another player from LSU who overcame his weakness by practicing on the way to school. That would be “Pistol Pete” Maravich who dribbled the basketball from the back seat of his Dad’s station wagon on the road for the 8 miles to school. He would become “the best ball handler of all-time”. His self-taught method was really just a matter of repetition.

While it is admirable that Stevan has handled the media scrutiny well, he can’t continue to keep everybody holding their breath each time he touches the ball.

Phil Perry, CSNNE.com:

"We always talk about ball-security," Belichick said. "Taking care of the ball, there's nothing that correlates more to winning and losing than the turnovers so that's always a high priority for us.

Stevan has only two choices. Hold on, or be gone. It is that simple.

Paul Murphy is a freelance writer from New Hampshire.

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