Ridley vs Woody vs Bolden

The bad thing about Stevan Ridley is that Defenses overload to the run when he is on the field. In two games where Defenses employed that tactic, Ridley has failed to gain significant yards. Also, play-action passes were taking too long to develop in The Ravens game. The immediate pressure from LBs and DTs in the backfield blew up any chance of rushing, and translated into some hits on Tom Brady.

So, why use Woodhead and Bolden? First of all, Ridley has not proven he's good enough in the passing game to earn a full-time role. He dropped a crucial swing pass that stopped the clock late in the loss to The Ravens. Secondly, Defenses treat Woodhead and Bolden differently, which gives the O-line a better chance of initiating and executing good run blocks. Woodhead's ability to block and beat a man on the outlet pass is necessary against blitzing teams. Lastly, Brandon Bolden has proven to be an asset to the team because of his short-yardage, change-of-pace running style.

Ridley showed so much promise in The Titans game with his explosiveness. He did very well on short yardage situations too, converting two 3rd and 3s. In the Arizona game, he was not as explosive, but he had 18 carries for 71 yards. Against Baltimore, Ridley hardly got on the field with 13 carries for 37 yards. So, what were The Ravens doing exactly to make Ridley so ineffective? Lets take a look at the coaches tape...

In this first look, we have #22 Stevan Ridley as the lone RB in a 3-WR, 1-TE set. The Ravens anticipate a running play, and commit two players to attack the backfield. #21 Lardarius Webb and #59 Denell Ellerbe run-blitz at the snap of the ball. Ellerbe blows up Dan Connolly at RG and Webb comes in unblocked to force Ridley to cut back. Webb forces Ridley right into the arms of Ellerbe. Ridley manages to fall forward for a yard, but this play never had a chance.

The Ravens were able to tee-off on The Patriots O-line when Ridley was in the backfield. Their plan was to get quick pressure to disrupt Ridley's cutback lanes. This was a risky gameplan because bringing extra blitzers leaves the secondary susceptible to deep play-action passes. However, The Ravens were successful at picking their spots, and also getting quick pressure on Brady when he faked to Ridley. The only way to stop teams from tee-ing off on Ridley is to audible out of runs or to protect better. The Patriots were unable to do either against The Ravens, so Woodhead and Bolden were used to change what the Defense was doing.

This photo shows #39 Danny Woodhead in the backfield next to Brady in the shotgun. The Ravens bring a 4-man pressure, and the LBs stay passive to protect against the pass. The theory here is that Woodhead cannot do as much damage as Ridley, so the Defense pays less attention to him. The Ravens are more worried about Brady's passing, and choose to stay back rather than attack.

On this play, Woodhead gains 4 yards before being tackled by Lewis and Ngata at the 40 yard line. The Patriots O-line bluffs a pass-blocking scheme which freezes Lewis and Ellerbe. The DEs go upfield and take themselves out of the play. Ngata makes a nice play to stick with his blocker, and drive him into the running lane. Woodhead has very little space, but he manages to squeeze forward for a small gain. Draw plays like this are good for taking some pressure off Brady. Also, 4 yards does a lot to bring up manageable 3rd downs. Woodhead's skill set in the passing game forces a Defense to spread out to guard the pass, whereas Ridley's rushing is somewhat predictable and one-dimensional.

Also, The Patriots used #38 Brandon Bolden to change the looks they were getting from The Ravens. Here, Bolden takes it in for a TD against a Defense that is stacked up in the box.The Patriots' formation screams run to the Defense, but The Ravens are not willing to sell-out on that assumption because of the talent of the TEs in the game. This is a 3-TE set, but The Patriots have shown the ability to pass out of this alignment. This forces the Defense to play disciplined against both run and pass.

The LBs Ellerbe and Lewis are frozen long enough to get blocked out of the play. Lewis tries to wait and see if Brady fakes to Bolden, but in the meantime, Dan Connolly gets a block on him to give Bolden a chance. #93 Ngata fires off low against Wendell, and nearly blows up the running lane, but Wendell does well to force him to the ground. On the other side, Mankins gets a nice block on Ellerbe.

Had this been Ridely in the backfield, The Ravens LBs would have been more conscious of the run. Ray Lewis' slow reaction to the play-action was probably in response to his expecting a pass and not a handoff to Bolden. We cannot say for sure what The Ravens would have done if this was Ridley, but throughout the game, The Ravens were bringing stunts and run-blitzes to get to him in the backfield. Against, Bolden and Woodhead, The Ravens were much more conservative. The Patriots apparently preferred it when The Ravens played conservative, and chose to utilize Woodhead and Bolden to exploit that tactic.