Running Backs

[Southieinnc]

Current roster
Running Backs
No Player Pos Bat Thw Ht Wt Age Exp Pob College Salary
29 LeGarrette Blount RB 6' 0" 250 28 5 Madison, Florida Oregon $900,000
38 Brandon Bolden RB 5' 11" 220 25 3 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Mississippi $570,000
46 James Develin RB 6' 3" 255 26 2 Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania Brown $570,000
31 Tyler Gaffney RB 6' 0" 220 23 0 San Diego, California Stanford -
35 Jonas Gray RB 5' 10" 225 24 1 Pontiac, Michigan Notre Dame -
26 Dion Lewis RB 5' 8" 195 24 4 Albany, New York Pittsburgh $645,000
22 Stevan Ridley RB 5' 11" 220 26 4 Natchez, Mississippi LSU $777,750
34 Shane Vereen RB 5' 10" 205 25 4 Valencia, California California $746,975
28 James White RB 5' 10" 205 23 0 Fort Lauderdale, Florida Wisconsin $420,000

Ridley * has to heal, sign, and make the team - non of these a given
Develin* Has done the job asked of him and we should give him a spot
Bolden is a decent back-up, has highest YPC and play well on ST's He is safe at this time
Gaffney was a work-horse back - this type has not played very long after being overused - hence the injury
Blount is a known commodity with much upside at $1 million
Gray is still not known - Will get his chance $510,000
James White cannot have impressed much at practice????
Vereen* will get an offer. Has 1930 total yards in 4 years? backup back/receiver option
Lewis has highest YPC - 4.8. has not played since 2012. 3 for 3 receiving.
* (free agent)

 

[NWPATSFAN]

As a business decision I'm ok with Ridley leaving. I may not have felt that way pre Gray/Blount this past season. They can handle the load. Pats need to lock up Shane V though. His blocking ability combined with his knowledge of the offense and pass catching ability are hard to match. Keep him at the right price on a 3 year deal with Brady to end their careers.

 

[Southieinnc]

As a business decision I'm ok with Ridley leaving. I may not have felt that way pre Gray/Blount this past season. They can handle the load. Pats need to lock up Shane V though. His blocking ability combined with his knowledge of the offense and pass catching ability are hard to match. Keep him at the right price on a 3 year deal with Brady to end their careers.

I like Vereen but he has not done so much to deserve a big contract.
How about he gamble on himself like Edelman did 2013?

 

[NWPATSFAN]

I like Vereen but not done so much to deserve a big contract.
How about he gamble on himself like Edelman did 2013?

I agree not sure what the "right" price is for a quality 3rd down back. He is just solid. Someone you count on. Had a great SB. Hope they find a happy medium.

 

[SDGuy73]

I like Vereen but he has not done so much to deserve a big contract.
How about he gamble on himself like Edelman did 2013?

Dude, no one is saying give Vereen a big contract. I don't believe that he set his price at $5M per. 3M per will propably do it.

 

[Southieinnc]

Dude, no one is saying give Vereen a big contract. I don't believe that he set his price at $5M per. 3M per will propably do it.

I am saying I'm not sure we should give him $2.5mil. I love the guy but I don't agree with bending over backward to satisfy him. Let him give a full yer an

Dude, no one is saying give Vereen a big contract. I don't believe that he set his price at $5M per. 3M per will propably do it.

I am saying, I'm not sure about giving him $2.5 mil. I have been a business owner for many years. Can you understand I am not easy?????

 

[BigKen]

Patriots are talking to CJ Spiller. Are they just kicking the tires or are they serious? Supposedly, seven other teams were very interested. Lots of rumors buzzing around this afternoon.

 

[Southieinnc]

Patriots are talking to CJ Spiller. Are they just kicking the tires or are they serious? Supposedly, seven other teams were very interested. Lots of rumors buzzing around this afternoon.

More camouflage.....

 

[Southieinnc]

Dude, no one is saying give Vereen a big contract. I don't believe that he set his price at $5M per. 3M per will propably do it.

Over $4 million a year for a guy that has 1930 combined total yards in his career!
Giants had a need - Patriots had to let him walk.
We have 3 replacements waiting to take his place.
Dion Lewis, Tyler Gaffney, and James White. Maybe one of them will be even better????

 

[Southieinnc]

Updated:
1)Blount is projected starter
2)Gray back-up with upside
3)Bolden back-up and ST's
4)Devlin starts as FB
5)Travaris Cadet appears to be the current heir to Vereen's spot

Gaffney, Lewis and White all get to compete as backup's / 3rd down backs / receivers

 

[BigKen]

New England Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears visited Georgia Tech's campus last week and spent time getting to know running back Zach Laskey, which included a private on-field workout. This is yet another example of the thoroughness of the scouting process and how the Patriots get their coaches involved at this point in the process, marrying up their reports with those of hard-working scouts.

The Patriots work out hundreds of prospects, which is important context.
At this point, the general idea is to gather as much information as possible on prospects and sometimes that information leads to genuine interest, while other times it does not. So from a media perspective, whenever there is credible information that the team is privately working out a player, it is used as a springboard to attempt to learn more about the prospect.

So who is Laskey?

A non-combine invitee, he played the "B-back" position in Georgia Tech's offense. He is 6-foot-2 1/4 and 225 pounds, has 10 1/8-inch hand size and posted a 35-inch vertical jump, 10-4 broad jump and was hand-timed between 4.50 and 4.58 in the 40 at Georgia Tech's pro day. He also had a 4.17 short shuttle and 6.94 time in the 3-cone drill, which is competitive with some of the top prospects in the draft.

One of Laskey's best performances last season came against Georgia, and one statistic of note was that in his first 150 carries of the season he only lost a total of 2 yards.

He is viewed by analysts as more of a later-round projection.

 

[SDGuy73]

New England Patriots running backs coach Ivan Fears visited Georgia Tech's campus last week and spent time getting to know running back Zach Laskey, which included a private on-field workout. This is yet another example of the thoroughness of the scouting process and how the Patriots get their coaches involved at this point in the process, marrying up their reports with those of hard-working scouts.

The Patriots work out hundreds of prospects, which is important context.
At this point, the general idea is to gather as much information as possible on prospects and sometimes that information leads to genuine interest, while other times it does not. So from a media perspective, whenever there is credible information that the team is privately working out a player, it is used as a springboard to attempt to learn more about the prospect.

So who is Laskey?

A non-combine invitee, he played the "B-back" position in Georgia Tech's offense. He is 6-foot-2 1/4 and 225 pounds, has 10 1/8-inch hand size and posted a 35-inch vertical jump, 10-4 broad jump and was hand-timed between 4.50 and 4.58 in the 40 at Georgia Tech's pro day. He also had a 4.17 short shuttle and 6.94 time in the 3-cone drill, which is competitive with some of the top prospects in the draft.

One of Laskey's best performances last season came against Georgia, and one statistic of note was that in his first 150 carries of the season he only lost a total of 2 yards.

He is viewed by analysts as more of a later-round projection.

That means we'll draft him in the first round.

 

[CreepCreep2014]

The more I read about Gaffney, I think he gets a real shot to take the lead here. He can play on all downs. He put up some damn good numbers in Stanford. I like what Cadet has to offer, but not sure he is Vereen's replacement. He is actually bigger than Vereen and plays more like a WR. I think White is inline for more work. As for Cadet...I actually think he is another WR/KR on this team. Something has to give....not sure what yet.

 

[Southieinnc]

Current roster
Running Backs
No Player Pos Bat Thw Ht Wt Age Exp Pob College Salary
29 LeGarrette Blount RB 6' 0" 250 28 5 Madison, Florida Oregon $900,000
38 Brandon Bolden RB 5' 11" 220 25 3 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Mississippi $570,000
46 James Develin RB 6' 3" 255 26 2 Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania Brown $570,000
31 Tyler Gaffney RB 6' 0" 220 23 0 San Diego, California Stanford -
35 Jonas Gray RB 5' 10" 225 24 1 Pontiac, Michigan Notre Dame -
26 Dion Lewis RB 5' 8" 195 24 4 Albany, New York Pittsburgh $645,000
22 Stevan Ridley RB 5' 11" 220 26 4 Natchez, Mississippi LSU $777,750
34 Shane Vereen RB 5' 10" 205 25 4 Valencia, California California $746,975
28 James White RB 5' 10" 205 23 0 Fort Lauderdale, Florida Wisconsin $420,000

Ridley * has to heal, sign, and make the team - non of these a given
Develin* Has done the job asked of him and we should give him a spot
Bolden is a decent back-up, has highest YPC and play well on ST's He is safe at this time
Gaffney was a work-horse back - this type has not played very long after being overused - hence the injury
Blount is a known commodity with much upside at $1 million
Gray is still not known - Will get his chance $510,000
James White cannot have impressed much at practice????
Vereen* will get an offer. Has 1930 total yards in 4 years? backup back/receiver option
Lewis has highest YPC - 4.8. has not played since 2012. 3 for 3 receiving.
* (free agent)

Vereen gone, Ridley gone, who did not think they would have been gone in this contract year?

 

[CreepCreep2014]

Vereen gone, Ridley gone, who did not think they would have been gone in this contract year?

Ridley here, Vereen gone for me.

 

[TxHeat]

anyone seen Jonas Gray?

 

[BigKen]

Both NY teams had to do something. Signi9ng a free agent is one thing, signing a Patriot free agent is over the top. The Giants did it because Vereen was inexpensive and the Giants had enough money to snag him. To them he was worth $4M a year.

The Jets signing Ridley is just their way of trying to cause a stir amongst their fans. The Patriots didn't even make Ridley an offer. What does that say? To me Belichick was basically saying "good riddance". Let's see how beloved he is in New York the first time he fumbles at the one in a critical game. Ridley was never a power runner and he had questionable hands. With a bad wheel to boot, he just doesn't fit here anymore. He can show off his Super Bowl Ring to the Jets players but anyone with a brain will say, but weren't you on IR from October on through the Super Bowl? Maybe that's the reason you have a ring, you weren't around to blow it for the Pats.........

 

[Southieinnc]

[QUOTE="TxHeat, post: 6454526, member:

anyone seen Jonas Gray? [/QUOTE]

Gray will start the 1st game of the season unless someone like Gaffney or White takes it from him in preseason....
From the doghouse to the penthouse!

 

[CreepCreep2014]

I have no faith in White at all. If he was ready to handle the load, they would have not brought in Cadet/Lewis. You don't waste a 4th rd pick like that. You have to remember that BB only carries 4 RB's and one of those goes to Bolden because he plays ST. So now it's down to Blount, Gaffney, Gray, White, Cadet, Lewis for 3 spots. NE just needs to suck it up and draft a RB who can play all 3 downs.

 

[Southieinnc]

I have no faith in White at all. If he was ready to handle the load, they would have not brought in Cadet/Lewis. You don't waste a 4th rd pick like that. You have to remember that BB only carries 4 RB's and one of those goes to Bolden because he plays ST. So now it's down to Blount, Gaffney, Gray, White, Cadet, Lewis for 3 spots. NE just needs to suck it up and draft a RB who can play all 3 downs.

White could be that guy but he will have to make great strides in pre-season to survive the cut to 53 - he is also practice-squad eligible? and if he doesn't show much, nobody will take him.....