Is Stevan Ridley Really Fumble Prone?

In a great breakdown by Eric Frenz of Bleacher Report, Stevan Ridley's alleged fumblitis is examined. It is way too early in Ridley's career for any label to be permanant, but this one really scares coaches away, and costs runners playing time.

It turns out though that Ridley really is not fumbling at a higher clip than most backs. He is the victim of a small sample size, and his own aggressive tendency to fight for yardage. Fighting for yardage is a good thing. Fumbling is bad. Seems to me that once this young back strikes the balance between the two he will naturally begin to get the second hand on the ball before contact not during it. This should cut his fumbling down tremendously.

As a one cut type of back, Ridley must remain aggressive to be effective. His is not the sort of style that strings moves together, bobbing, and weaving and eluding defenders. His is the find a gap, plant, and attack like the freaking honey-badger style. A little more seasoning in training camp and I think Ridley will really start to temper that aggression just enough to be a secure ball carrier while maintaining his effectiveness.

Very few young players just show up in the NFL as savvy ballers that rarely make mistakes. Raw talent is the norm, and Ridley is well positioned to smooth out his game in an offense that really does not need a dominant ground game to win. This second season should be a nice showcase of how much difference a year can make.