Vereen leads Ridley in total snaps


While it's fair to say that the run-game was ineffective in it's merely occasional utilisation against the Dolphins, one guy took the majority of the snaps on Sunday evening. Shane Vereen took three times as many offensive snaps as presumed starter Stevan Ridley in Miami.


It should be noted that Vereen was often split out as a wide receiver to create some matchup problems out of the backfield, but he racked up 7 carries in total, only 1 less than Ridley. Vereen was also the leading rusher, good for a paltry 35 yards over Edelman and Ridley's 21 each.

It's hard to say with any certainty whether Vereen or Ridley deserve to be the lead back this year, especially given the confusingly low number of run plays called in Week 1. The struggling offensive line may have been a deterrent on Sunday, but the backs were still underwhelming against what was essentially the Dolphins' second string linebacker corps. It's hard to imagine Vereen being utilised as the workhorse, especially with his versatility on 3rd down, so the safe bet may still be Ridley for now. Also interesting to note was the fact that Brandon Bolden was in the game for 10% of offensive snaps while James White was a healthy scratch. Expect these two to switch continuously until one puts up a strong in-game performance or week of practice.

Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images

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