New England Patriots - NESN.com
Rhamondre Stevenson recovered from a recurring turnover issue to help the New England Patriots secure a massive win on Sunday night.
Mike Vrabel didn’t abandon the running back after he lost his third fumble of the season to start New England’s second drive. Stevenson led the backfield in snaps (31) and scored two goal-line touchdowns in a 23-20 victory over the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium.
During Monday morning’s weekly radio interview on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show,” Vrabel was asked why he remains confident in Stevenson despite his fumbles. Vrabel explained why he keeps playing the 27-year-old.
“We go with all of them, and we’ll use all of them,” Vrabel said. “He’s valuable in protection, and when teams start blitzing and heat this up, it’s critical that somebody protects the quarterback. And they can go short-yardage instances and around the goal line, and we mix carries up. So everybody’s going to have a role, and we’ll have to continue to take care of the ball. And so you have to make those decisions.”
Vrabel wants to keep deploying a backfield committee also featuring dynamic rookie TreVeyon Henderson, but he knows Stevenson must clean up his ball-security woes.
“I think Rhamondre understands how critical the ball is, but we’ve got to start putting that fire out and making sure that until we’re back in the huddle that that ball remains in our possession,” Vrabel added. “Whether we’re going down or we’re close to the ground. We’re going to need them all. We’re going to need everybody, and we’re going to need especially all the backs in that room to help us.”
An injury to Antonio Gibson may give Vrabel more motivation to stick with Stevenson, who is averaging 3.7 yards per carry this season. Yet some fans are eager to see Henderson receive more chances in New England’s backfield.
Stevenson will look to protect the football when the Patriots play the New Orleans Saints in Week 6.
