For Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, watching film of the 2024 season has not always been pleasant. Which is understandable because, for Patriots fans, watching it in real time was not very pleasant, either. And one issue that was frustrating throughout the season was the tendency of star running back Rhamondre Stevenson to put the ball on the ground.
Stevenson had seven fumbles in 2024, which was the most of any non-quarterback in the NFL. It’s a worry for the guy who was the most productive offensive player on the team, with 801 yards rushing on 207 carries and another 168 yards receiving on 33 catches.
That is a concern for Vrabel, especially after Stevenson again fumbled in Friday night’s scrimmage.
Patriots Getting ‘Clean Slate’
But asked about the situation this week, Vrabel said he would be willing to give Stevenson a clean slate coming into 2025, and pointed out that some of last year’s fumbles were an offshoot of the team’s general inability to block anyone.
“Everybody has a fresh, clean slate,” Vrabel said. “We like to go through those things, and some of that is technique, some of that is the second guy in. A lot of times on fumbles, if you want to talk fumbles and ball security, I’m happy to do that, but one person’s got to have the ball in their hand every play offensively, and the rest of those 10 players are going to be responsible for protecting the guy with the ball.
“And so, yep, there were some instances where he put it on the ground, and there were some instances where the second guy came in, and we need to eliminate the second guy from coming in by the way that we play and our play demeanor and the way that we finish. So a clean slate, everybody has a clean slate, but also, there’s things that have to change and be better at every position as we move toward the season.”
Rhamondre Stevenson ‘Can’t Do That’
Still, that was not the case on Stevenson’s fumble on Friday. On that play, he made a good move and got into the open field, only to have the ball stripped.
Stevenson said he is on notice that he can’t let that happen–especially with rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson pushing for the starting job.
“I can’t do that. I can’t do that. A mistake happened. It’s training camp, so hopefully I can just get that out the way right now, you know? Go into the season clean,” he said.
Patriots Turnovers a Big Concern
Between Stevenson’s fumble and two interceptions by quarterback Drake Maye, Vrabel had much to worry about from the offense’s showing, though he did choose to focus on the positive.
“The turnovers – I thought we did some really good things, tried to show them that,” Vrabel said. The turnovers are certainly going to get us beat. We had some passes that should have been caught. We had some – I would say, decisions, right? I think.
“And hopefully when we ask a receiver to run a play like that, that if it’s not there, there’s other ways to get out of the play. If you continue to run, you’ve got a pocket, you can throw it away. So, those are great things to teach on in those specific instances.”
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