Volin: Stevan Ridley Is A Bigger Loss For The Patriots Than Jerod Mayo
BOSTON (CBS) - As of this morning the team has yet to confirm it, but reports indicate that Patriots running back Stevan Ridley and linebacker Jerod Mayo suffered season-ending injuries in Sunday's win over Buffalo.
The Boston Globe's Ben Volin made an assertion on Twitter yesterday afternoon that Ridley is a bigger loss than Mayo, and he received a lot of flack for it from Patriots fans.
"You'd think I said, 'I like kicking puppies' or something," Volin joked Tuesday morning on Toucher & Rich. "You should see the hate tweets I'm getting for saying that."
Volin spent the majority of his interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub defending his opinion.
"Jerod Mayo has been a beloved player since 2008. He's racked up a million tackles since he's been here. He's certainly the leader of that defense. They're going to miss him emotionally and on the field -- no doubt about it. I'm just saying if I'd rather have one player I'd take Stevan Ridley. I just think the offense has more issues than the defense right now, and he's a very valuable piece to that," said Volin.
"[Ridley] is a very strong runner between the tackles. He's the only back right now that I think can churn out the tough yards. He pounds opposing defenses and can close out games in the fourth quarter, as we saw in Cincinnati a couple weeks ago. People keep telling me that running backs are replaceable. They are, but not this time of year. You can always find them in the draft, and in free agency in March, April and May. But this time of year all the good running backs are taken or on injured reserve. You can't just plug-and-play a guy to replace Stevan Ridley. He hasn't fumbled once this year. He's been pretty good."
Volin thinks the fans are reacting to the "fantasy footballization of America" and the notion that running backs are a dime a dozen. But the way he sees it, the Patriots have options to replace Mayo, whereas with Ridley it's much harder.
"Jerod Mayo, the reality is he's probably lost a step. He's definitely not very good in coverage anymore. He's solid in the run game, but he's just not the same player he was five years ago. I know there's a lot to be made that they're losing their emotional leader, but when Dont'a Hightower comes back from injury and Jamie Collins continues to improve I think they can get by without Mayo. They did it last year. Ridley is gonna be tough to replace."
Listen below for the full discussion, including the possible trade value of Danny Amendola and facing the Jets on Thursday Night Football!
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