Breaking News (Literally): Shane Vereen Played the Game of His Life with a Busted Wrist

Herald – It was odd to see Shane Vereen only use one hand to put his socks on after yesterday’s game. Now, there’s an answer. The Patriots running back broke his left wrist during his first snap against the Bills, will require surgery today and miss a few weeks while he recovers… At a time when Tom Brady is searching for reliable targets, the loss of Vereen could be a huge blow. He had the best game of his career yesterday with 14 carries for 101 yards and seven catches for 58 yards. He amassed 31 yards on the decisive drive in the fourth quarter, too. The broken bone makes the performance even more impressive…. Vereen was in clear pain in yesterday’s locker room and seemed to be a bit discouraged by something. Obviously, this was the reason for that. Without Vereen, Stevan Ridley should be expected to resume his role as the primary back after he was benched yesterday for a bad fumble.

On the one hand, this sucks on toast, obviously.  Vereen (with assists from Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman) carried the offense to a win on a day when you needed an Amber Alert to find the rest of the skill position guys.  Seriously, hearing this news I pretty much flipped out like Brody when Quint smashes the radio with a bat.  GREAT!  This is just GREAT!!! On the other hand, you have to admit this is pretty badass.  For a guy to step up and produce 170 yards of offense when his team needed him most after breaking his wrist on the first play?  That’s the stuff of legends.  If I can mix my Boston sports metaphors, that’s some Gregory Campbell-killing-a-penalty-with-a-broken-leg, Grit & Balls, #BostonStrong-caliber shit right there.  And if anything I know about team sports is true, the inspiration from having a teammate ball out like that sometimes far outweighs losing the guy for a few weeks.  (One can only hope.)  And if anything I know about Belichick is true, he’s not going to put Ridley back in just because he lost Vereen.  He’ll keep him in the metaphorical Cool Hand Luke hotbox until the message about taking care of the rock sinks in, even if it means getting 30 carries out of Brandon Bolden.  After all, the irony should be lost on no one that the guy who played with a broken wrist the whole game is the one who didn’t fumble.  @JerryThornton1