Addai to the Pats

[Providence Colt]

It will be tough to determine (because of the past injuries), if I'll truly be correct about Addai's fit in New England (he's who I wanted in 2006; not Maroney).

I'd actually say that Addai signing with New England is the final nail in the coffin on that one.

Belichick is signing Addai, whereas he's leaving Maroney unemployed (well, he could be bagging groceries at Shaws for all I know). That tells me all that I need to know about Addai being a better fit in New England than Maroney.

Some things to consider:

1) Great pass blocker = less Human Speed Bump efforts.
2) Good outlet guy. Patriots don't throw to the backs much, but at least that option's open now.
3) Geaux Tigers.

1) While he's certainly declined in some areas, pass blocking definitely isn't one of them.
2) He's a pretty good outlet guy, he still has an eye to find a spot to catch the pass, but he definitely has lost a lot of his initial burst and he can be tentative when he first receives it (he also seems to stutter step a lot when he gets into the open field, oddly enough).
3) Roll Tide.

 

[O_P_T]

IIRC, Faulk had fumble problems early in his career.

I'm not sure about that, but I do recall there were calls for his head when he didn't go after a pass that was ruled a lateral and the other team (GB?) recovered the ball.

Yes, it was the GB game in '02.

 

[spacecrime]

Belichick is signing Addai, whereas he's leaving Maroney unemployed (well, he could be bagging groceries at Shaws for all I know). That tells me all that I need to know about Addai being a better fit in New England than Maroney.

That's quite a leap. I don't think you can compare who was signed before and who was signed now and make value judgements on that. Or you could say that because BB signed Gonzales in 2012 and not Moss, then Gonzales would have been a better fit than Randy back in 2007.

What happened in 2006 draft and what is happening now proves nothing. Players get signed, they leave, they get re-signed or they don't. But signing one guy now and another guy in another time, past or future, proves zilch.

Not to mention, Maroney was on the team for four years. Before we put Addai in the Pats Hall of Fame, let's see if he even makes the team, okay? Faulk or any other FA back can still be signed and can still compete and can still beat out Addai for a roster spot that might not even exist come September (could go with 3 RB and 1 or 2 FBs)

 

[MaineMan]

IIRC, Faulk had fumble problems early in his career.

Faulk's Touches/Fumbles (regular season only, AND not all were lost fumbles, of course):

YR - Rush/Rec - Returns - TOT Touches - FMB - Touches/FMB

1999 -- 79 - 49 - 128 - 3 -- 43
2000 - 215 - 44 - 259 - 6 -- 43
2001 -- 71 - 37 - 108 - 2 -- 54
2002 -- 89 - 34 - 123 - 1 - 123
2003 - 226 - 18 - 244 - 4 -- 61
2004 -- 80 - 24 - 104 - 2 -- 52
2005 -- 80 -- 4 -- 84 - 3 -- 28
2006 -- 67 - 48 - 115 - 2 -- 58
2007 - 109 -- 2 - 111 - 1 - 111
2008 - 141 - 12 - 153 - 0 -
2009 -- 99 - 11 - 110 - 1 - 110
2010 -- 14 -- 0 -- 14 - 0 -
2011 -- 24 -- 2 -- 26 - 0 -

Ridley 2011 (including playoff game vs DEN):

2011 -- 95 -- 7 - 102 - 2 -- 51 touches /FMB

Woodhead (including playoffs both seasons):

2010 - 151 -- 1 - 152 - 1 - 152
2011 - 117 - 24 - 144 - 1 - 144

 

[The Hoodie]

People were (incorrectly, IMO) labeling Ridley to have "ball security issues" because he fumbled once in two straight games (one fumble went out of bounds, if you really want to get nickpicky). Two fumbles is not really something to be worried about.

 

[O_P_T]

People were (incorrectly, IMO) labeling Ridley to have "ball security issues" because he fumbled once in two straight games (one fumble went out of bounds, if you really want to get nickpicky). Two fumbles is not really something to be worried about.

Yes and no.

The fact that he didn't see the field after the second tells me that BB thought it was significant.

 

[MaineMan]

People were (incorrectly, IMO) labeling Ridley to have "ball security issues" because he fumbled once in two straight games (one fumble went out of bounds, if you really want to get nickpicky). Two fumbles is not really something to be worried about.

I'm not sure that it was just the actual fumbles. It seemed to me that Ridley often (though not always) carried the ball a bit low and slightly away from his body and sometimes ran a little upright for a couple of steps. I noticed this most often when he was attempting a cut to slip a tackle. It might be a balance thing. This, of course, is the sort of thing that can lead to a runner getting stood up and stripped.

I have to think that he was being worked hard to correct this in practice. There's no way to know for certain, but it's possible that the coaches felt that he simply hadn't made quite enough progress to risk continuing to use him in the playoffs.

I also noticed that Ridely sometimes missed an easy opening at the LoS, not through Maroney-style "dancing", but just through a slight mistiming on his cut. This might have been another factor.

It seems to me that these are the kinds of things that might have been much better if he'd had a full off-season to work through them a bit more.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying that Ridley isn't going to be a fine RB, just that he's not quite there yet - he has a couple things to work out. I mean, all guys do between their first and second seasons.

 

[chevss454]

Faulk's Touches/Fumbles (regular season only, AND not all were lost fumbles, of course):

YR - Rush/Rec - Returns - TOT Touches - FMB - Touches/FMB

1999 -- 79 - 49 - 128 - 3 -- 43
2000 - 215 - 44 - 259 - 6 -- 43
2001 -- 71 - 37 - 108 - 2 -- 54
2002 -- 89 - 34 - 123 - 1 - 123
2003 - 226 - 18 - 244 - 4 -- 61
2004 -- 80 - 24 - 104 - 2 -- 52
2005 -- 80 -- 4 -- 84 - 3 -- 28
2006 -- 67 - 48 - 115 - 2 -- 58
2007 - 109 -- 2 - 111 - 1 - 111
2008 - 141 - 12 - 153 - 0 -
2009 -- 99 - 11 - 110 - 1 - 110
2010 -- 14 -- 0 -- 14 - 0 -
2011 -- 24 -- 2 -- 26 - 0 -

Ridley 2011 (including playoff game vs DEN):

2011 -- 95 -- 7 - 102 - 2 -- 51 touches /FMB

Woodhead (including playoffs both seasons):

2010 - 151 -- 1 - 152 - 1 - 152
2011 - 117 - 24 - 144 - 1 - 144

I have to say I'm really surprised Faulk had so many fumbles. I don't remember the 'fumbler' label after the first year or 2. In fact, I remember people saying he worked hard to correct it and did correct it. 2005 was dreadful for him and I just don't recollect thinking he was a fumbler. The data says differently though. Good stuff, MM.

 

[Taint Ed Love]

Does Addai fumble? Never really watched the Colts (unless the Pats were playing them).

 

[German_Patriot]

Does Addai fumble? Never really watched the Colts (unless the Pats were playing them).

7 Fumbles (5 lost) in 6 years, never more than 2 in one season.

 

[BostonTim]

I have to say I'm really surprised Faulk had so many fumbles. I don't remember the 'fumbler' label after the first year or 2. In fact, I remember people saying he worked hard to correct it and did correct it. 2005 was dreadful for him and I just don't recollect thinking he was a fumbler. The data says differently though. Good stuff, MM.

Well he has been virtually perfect lately. And I don't recall what was up with him in 85 but his touches were way way off and he may have been nursing something that skewed the numbers that year.

Apart from that, fumbles get magnified by situations. Faulk's are assuredly less memorable than, say, Maroney's goal line adventures.

Edit: fighting a broken foot

http://articles.boston.com/2005-09-29/sports/29221643_1_guys-coaches-kevin-faulk


Cheers, BostonTim

 

[dchester]

I have to say I'm really surprised Faulk had so many fumbles. I don't remember the 'fumbler' label after the first year or 2. In fact, I remember people saying he worked hard to correct it and did correct it. 2005 was dreadful for him and I just don't recollect thinking he was a fumbler. The data says differently though. Good stuff, MM.

We've definitely talked about Faulk's fumbling problems several years back. I'll give him credit for fixing it, though.

http://www.patriotsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?p=224621

 

[chevss454]

We've definitely talked about Faulk's fumbling problems several years back. I'll give him credit for fixing it, though.

http://www.patriotsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?p=224621

I wasn't posting here back then and as MM's data shows, Faulk had a bad year in 2005...really bad. 2006 was better than average and he was really good after that. So I guess for 4-5 years he was pretty good with 2005 being an outlier. I just don't remember his bad 2005 season. Gettin old .

 

[TommyD420]

I wasn't posting here back then and as MM's data shows, Faulk had a bad year in 2005...really bad. 2006 was better than average and he was really good after that. So I guess for 4-5 years he was pretty good with 2005 being an outlier. I just don't remember his bad 2005 season. Gettin old .

He fumbled 21 times from 1999-2005. 6 times in 2000 alone. You really don't remember this?

 

[chevss454]

He fumbled 21 times from 1999-2005. 6 times in 2000 alone. You really don't remember this?

I remember 2000 and Faulk working on his fumbleitis as a result but I can't recollect his 2005 season.

 

[Patriots-Lifer]

Addai in his 6 seasons has had almost 1300 possessions Rushing and Receiving. He has had 9 TDs total and 7 fumbles. He has missed 18 games in those 6 seasons. At 5'11" and 214 lbs he is not very durable. He has had 191 receptions and 16 dropped passes. I do not expect him to have any real impact for the Patriots this season. Vereen showed as good if not better hands and explosiveness at Cal. Brandon Bolden had 76 receptions for 6 TDs at Mississippi. Vereen is more like Faulk than Addai ever will be. Addai is a used up RB with way to much mileage on him. The man was beaten down while with the Colts.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Addai in his 6 seasons has had almost 1300 possessions Rushing and Receiving. He has had 9 TDs total and 7 fumbles. He has missed 18 games in those 6 seasons. At 5'11" and 214 lbs he is not very durable. He has had 191 receptions and 16 dropped passes. I do not expect him to have any real impact for the Patriots this season. Vereen showed as good if not better hands and explosiveness at Cal. Brandon Bolden had 76 receptions for 6 TDs at Mississippi. Vereen is more like Faulk than Addai ever will be. Addai is a used up RB with way to much mileage on him. The man was beaten down while with the Colts.

I feel the same.

In fact, I'd be more pleased if Addai were cut and we either went with one of the FB's or UDFA Bolden.

 

[BluVayner]

Addai in his 6 seasons has had almost 1300 possessions Rushing and Receiving. He has had 9 TDs total and 7 fumbles. He has missed 18 games in those 6 seasons. At 5'11" and 214 lbs he is not very durable.

Wrong.

He has 52 career touchdowns, not 9.

The 9 touchdowns are just his receiving touchdowns. He also has 39 rushing touchdowns, plus 4 more in the playoffs. He's been a very productive player.