If anyone was watching Sunday Night Football last night, they all took notice of one thing: Jonas Gray. With a 4 TD, 199 yard rushing performance, you’d be on another planet not to notice the rookie’s talents. And that’s saying a lot for a young man who was only on the practice squad a month ago. But when opportunity presented itself in the absence of Stevan Ridley, Gray has made the most out of his chances and worked to establish the running game for the New England Patriots.
“He works hard and he’s a tough kid” – Bill Belichick on Jonas Gray
When tensions flared over who was going to fill the void with Ridley off the field, Brandon Bolden didn’t prove a solid enough choice. While Shane Vereen is most certainly resourceful to the team, he is used more as a pass catcher than anything and not the big solid back the team needed to run defenders over. Many had hoped that LaGarrette Blount hadn’t made his way to Pittsburgh, wishing for a sturdy back like Blount who runs like a freight train. But thankfully, there is an answer in Gray. At 5’9 and 225 lbs, he is the tree trunk the Patriots needs to pummel through the line and get the downs and goal line carries when need be.
And although many doubted bringing up Gray from the practice squad after Ridley went down against the Buffalo Bills in Week 6 with an ACL injury, coach Belichick believed in the rookie’s talents. “He works hard and he’s a tough kid, a bigger back obviously — more in the Ridley size range,” said Belichick, back in late October. Gray proved to all the doubters last night with a legendary performance, becoming the first New England player with at least 100 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a regular-season game since Tony Collins in 1983. Clearly, the kid can play, and hold on to the ball–which we all know that Ridley has had problems doing in the past. Even more so, if there is one thing Belichick hates just as much as losing, it’s when running backs cough up the ball.
Musket Fire
So, now that the running game is firmly established in New England, that leaves a good question on the minds of those watching last night: is Ridley going to get his job back come next year? With the looks of last night, I think that’s the million dollar question to be answered… especially with Ridley in the free agency market next year. When asked last season about his impending free agency in 2015, Ridley was quoted as saying, “honestly, man, I try not to think too much about it.”
Something tells me Ridley’s thoughts may start to change if Gray keeps going the way he is.