Stevan Ridley on benching: 'I’m not going to pout about it, just keep grinding'

Stevan Ridley

New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley returned to his fumbling ways right off the bat in their season opener vs. the Buffalo Bills Sunday.

One the refs overturned, but wasn’t lucky a second time as he slipped on a play without a Bills player contacting him. Bills safety Da’Norris Searcy scooped it up and ran it all the way back for a deflating touchdown.

Ridley knew that the second referee Walt Coleman upheld the call on the field that he would staying put on the bench for the rest of the game. In came fellow back Shane Vereen, who will have the Patriots forgetting all about Ridley if he continues to do what he did Sunday. Vereen ran for 101 yards on 14 carries, while adding 58 yards on 7 catches, something the Pats needed on a bit of an off day for Tom Brady, et. al.

Ridley was asked by WEEI (via PFT) if he felt there was now a need to win his job back. “Absolutely. Two turnovers, I was out of there the rest of the game,” Ridley said, via WEEI.com. “Hey, I’m not going to pout about it, just keep grinding.”