2 weeks Ago By Sophie Weller, A to Z Sports
New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo made it clear that offense planned to run the ball this season, and they have certainly done that. So it's been Rhamondre Stevenson who has stepped up. And while he has showed a lot of promise, with Mayo saying he has "always believed that he’s one of the best running backs in the league," a worrisome habit has shown itself in the first three games of the season.
In the win against the Cincinnati Bengals, and the losses to the Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets, Stevenson has fumbled each game. And while the team was able to recover the ball in the first two matchups, the Jets came away with it during a horrendous performance by New England on Thursday night. “I gotta hold the ball,” Stevenson said simply to reporters after the loss.
And on Friday, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt shined some more light on this issue. Specifically, he spoke about how it is now something that teams are clearly looking to exploit. “Now he’s got a target on his back,” Van Pelt said.
“So teams are going to see that and they’re going to come after the football.” In the team's season opener, Stevenson was by far the best offensive player in the 16-10 win, finishing the game with 25 carries for 120 yards. He also scored the team's only touchdown.
In only three games this season, he has 52 carries for 224 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, along with five receptions for 15 yards. However, those three fumbles on his stat sheet put a damper on his impressive start. Especially considering that in his first three years in the league, he's only had four total.
Thursday night's game was a wake up call that Stevenson and the Patriots needed. He is such a dominant back, so there is no doubt that he will bounce back from this. This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.
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