Can Vereen be the difference maker? 

He is certainly making headlines. Not many running backs in the NFL can run wheel routes and fly routes like a WR. He certainly lit the Texans up tonight. 

Here are some headlines about the win, and how he stole space even from Brady's perfect night:

Shane Vereen led the Patriots past the Texans to set up an AFC title clash with the Ravens."  Boston.com

Brady, Vereen propel Patriots -- ESPN

Third Stringer Shane Vereen stars for Patrios -- Yahoosports.com

Unlikely Contributors Aid New England as it Advances to AFC Championship Game -- Foxsports

Shane Vereen Takes Chance and Runs with It. --  Boston.com\

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Sure there are more out there. 124 AP yards and three TDS, two receiving from three wide/spread was just impressive. 

The question, is he the play maker in the absence of Gronk, or is this a one off?

In response to zbellino's comment:

Z, let's hope it's the start of a trend, and not just a one-off, because if Woody's injury is significant, Shane will be getting a lot more snaps. He has always had ability and speed, but now he has health and confidence (it would seem) added to the mix. What I really love about him is that, like Hern, he has open field YAC ability, something none of the other Pats (with Gronk down) have.

Oh, and one other thing: Shane had at least two major blitz pickups that he stopped cold. That was VERY good to see.

Certainly we all hope this is the difference maker. Vereen's speed and quickness reminds me somewhat of Sproles, but even Sproles can't beat linebackers on a Go route (at least, I've never seen it).

I remember always hearing about Vereen as a back that you'd put in on 3rd down because he could catch so well out of the backfield. Even then, I didn't realize he catches as well as a wide receiver. If Vereen can keep this up (and I think he can based simply on his talent and maturity), he could be the new matchup nightmare that adds another dimension to this offense, made even more dangerous through the no-huddle.

In response to NY-PATS-FAN4's comment:

+1

That's not really Ridley's strong suit too. So with Woodhead gone, it would be nice if Vereen could be the "chip" guy.

All the same, he was special tonight. And I hope he can keep it up.

In response to kevin13130's comment:

I argued against that. I never understood why people consider him a 3rd down back. He is 215 lbs ... about the same size as BJGE. 

Not really sure how size plays in????

At any rate, he could be the feature back in this offense if they develop him correctly. 

He has a three down back skill set. 

In response to zbellino's comment:

I think the knock on him was that he liked to bounce runs to the outside too much. He wasn't a downhill runner like BJGE or Ridley. He'd get chased down trying to get to the edge when he could've plowed forward for a couple of yards. He ran pretty well between the tackles tonight, which may get him more touches going forward.

And I hope he does. I just love how Vereen is so versatile that you can move him around wherever when you play no-huddle. One snap, he's running out of a two-TE formation. Next play, he's out wide running receiver routes. That's got to be absolutely dizzying if you're the defender.

In response to zbellino's comment:

better be the former.

and i know you and i have been wanting them to use him and see what he can do since beginning of last year

In response to NY-PATS-FAN4's comment:

+1

In response to kevin13130's comment:

+1

I always thought that Vereen could fill the role of Woody. Unlike Woody, Vereen has much more upside as a traditional RB. He can also get downfield and catch passes that you hardly expect from a RB.

However, he is a change of pace back. It was obvious that it took Ridley coming into the game to get the backfield to be more productive. I would like to see Vereeniging used more, but we need Ridley setting up the run game not only for Vereen but for the passing game also. If we use Vereen the right way he should become a dangerous threat out of the hurry up.

In response to zbellino's comment:

right now he should be a wr with ridley in backfield on a good % of our plays

 

In response to freediro's comment:

agreed on your ridley point

Vereen had a truly impressive game and I'm hoping that bodes well for the rest of the playoffs.  I think he and Ridley make a truly excellent backfield.

It was great seeing McD utilize the Rbs in the passing game. We have been missing this for too long. I wonder if we were waiting to use Vareen for the post season. It is an entirely new wrinkle. When 2 rbs have almost half of your total yardage and 4 of your tds then how can any defense play Tom Brady honestly? This offense is special in that is the most versatile we have ever had.  We threw a checkdown 1st down to Ridley last night. How can a D stop that when they are trying to find WW and Hern all day?

Seems like Vereen finally gets his chance with Woodhead going down.  He certainly looked good and as much as I like Woodhead, Vereen is a better player.  Or at least more versatile.  The O will need Vereen as a threat with Gronk done for the playoffs.  The O will have to be more crafty.   

I think theWoodhead injury is what gave Vereen the snaps. With Gronk hurt, they also needed more from the backs in the passing game because they are very thin at receivers. Fortunately Vereen was ready to step up. Very exciting development (unless of course you think subbing out the " lead" running back is bad).

 

In response to prolate0spheroid's comment:

I agree with this. I think woodhead got the start cause he is the best blocking rb.  After he got hurt Vereen's hands is what got him snaps.   This tells me that bolden better be ready cause he nd Ridley re going to pound it to the ravens. 

He certainly showed great things in this game. Whether that is a mirage or the real deal only time will tell. Let's hope it's for real.

In response to freediro's comment:

Disagree on both accounts. First, I don't think Vereen has to be a change of pace back.

Second, it wasn't obvious that Ridley set anything up. Not to me. I think he had about seven carries before the final two drives. He was actually subbing for Vereen, because Vereen saw the majority of the snaps out of the 2TE package, sometimes split wide. 

Vereen played 38 out of the 66 snaps.

Ridley had 27, 13 of which were on the final two drives, when they brought him in to milk the clock. So in the "meat" of the game, Ridley was only on the field for 13 total snaps. 

Vereen was, in fact, the lead back. Ridley was the power sub.

Saying Ridley's small handful of carries "set up" what Vereen did is a slight to Vereen, who was amazing, and demonstrated elusiveness that Ridley cannot match -- especially on the broken toss play, where he eluded Connor Barwin who had him dead to rights and turned into a gain. 

Frankly, I think they should run the offense this way every week next season. Use Ridley in the spots he is good in, but let Vereen see more total snaps. If that is what he brings (how many 215lb Rbs in the NFL can run a go route or a wheel route like a WR?) then he adds a dimension to the offense that Ridley cannot. 

In response to TrueChamp's comment:

Yeah, specifically Vereen on the screen, wheel and go routes, split wide on some of them ... so as a WR. 

How can you stop checkdowns? By preparing for checkdowns? Leave one LBer middle deep to wrap it up, or have one man-to-man shadow the runner. It's nice when you catch a team napping on it though. 

No collection of talent, no matter how they are arrayed is invulnerable. 

Truth, I like the 'look' they have in 2TE or the 11 package with Vereen on the field best, simply because he can split wide and run precision routes (not just check downs). But it doesn't mean it works every single time. 

You are always a bad game away from something not working. 

If the offense executes their blocking, route running, passing, and running this well next week, They'll decimate the Ravens' old defense. 

If they don't, they won't score as many points. 

In response to zbellino's comment:

That was insane.  Completely insane.  Made Barwin look like a practice squad player.

In response to CablesWyndBairn's comment:

They already were. 

They just lost Gronkowski at the beginning of the game. And woodhead. It took them two drives after that the send Vereen to the endzone. 

Really, they just need to run the old Woodhead plays, but push the ball to Vereen more. He gets open easier, and can make more out of the straight-up runs than Woodhead did.

I don't see too much of a need to reinvent the wheel. The basic McD stuff from 2007 will work just fine if they need it. 

In response to pcmIV's comment:

Haha. And Barwin is no practice squad player. Vereen absolutely *froze* him. He also outmatched Manning and Kareem Jackson as a WR when they "spread" the field splitting him out. 

Hopefully it wasn't just one inspired performance, but is a harbinger of things to come from this kid. 

This is what the Patriots do. Unless they have an unpresendented need to start a rookie with no adequate veteran in front of them at the position, they take their time bringing them along.

 

It was and is always absolutely laughable when I had previously seen peoples comments in here saying Vereen was a bust because he had not been playing much, yet.

 

Vereen had a highlight reel full of great plays both running and especially in the passing game coming out of Cal.

 

When the Pats drafted him it seemed very likely that they envisioned a Faulk like type role for him. However Woody had fallen in the Pats lap do to the Jets idiocy to dump him. Woody was just as capable and with more Pro experience. Plus Vereen starting his career off with the hamstring problem.