A lot of people are waiting for the day the New England Patriots officially name TreVeyon Henderson their lead running back over Rhamondre Stevenson (50% fans who are frustrated with Stevenson's ball security issues, 50% Fantasy Football users who probably drafted Henderson a little too high).
There's a chance it happens at some point this season. Henderson is technically a more talented player than Stevenson because of his speed, agility, explosiveness, and home-run ability, and he definitely had the better game on Sunday (76 rushing yards on 16 attempts and scored the Patriots' only offensive touchdown -- Stevenson fumbled the ball on a reception very early in the game and was mostly put in the doghouse for the rest of the game).
But at the same time, there's a reason New England hasn't fully pulled the trigger on naming the Ohio State alum its starter. The team has an intriguing committee going on in the backfield right now, and as it stands, they are better off just letting Henderson and Stevenson split the workload.
The Patriots' running back committee seems to be working
Henderson (home-run ability, not a good pass-blocker, and doesn't have great field vision) and Stevenson (not nearly as explosive and still has issues with fumbling the ball, but he is a good combination of powerful and agile and is better at turning nothing into something between the tackles) complement each other very well.
They even proved that on Sunday. Despite his fumble, Stevenson still had a mostly solid game (43 yards on six attempts - 7.2 yards per carry), and he can make up for a lot of Henderson's shortcomings, and vice versa.
On paper, there's a lot to be excited about with this Patriots offense, at least when fully healthy, and their running back situation is one of those things. They don't need a clear-cut lead running back when the dynamic they have going for them is mostly working. Henderson and Stevenson are each very talented running backs who possess a different skillset, and they can both contribute to winning football in New England.
In the long run, the Patriots probably want Henderson to develop his way into becoming that guy for them. They just drafted him in the second round last year, and his ceiling is way, way, way higher than Stevenson's (who is turning 29 years old in February, by the way). But for now, they have a good system going, and it doesn't make sense to abandon it until they have a legitimate reason to.
Add us as a preferred source on Google