Patriots Blog: Vereen Gets His Shot
FOXBORO (CBS) - New England Patriots rookie running back Shane Vereen fell behind early in the season due to a hamstring pull, and has had to sit games because of it.
He had fallen low on the depth chart, but finally got his chance against the Chiefs Monday night.
Vereen made the most of being active and more importantly, when he entered the game. He got his chance to show his stuff in the fourth quarter, and the second-round pick out of California put it in the end zone.
Read: Levan Reid's Patriots Blog
"I think anybody who's played football this long has been itching to get out there when they haven't been out there for a while, said Vereen. "It was good to get out there. It was fun, I enjoyed it. It was a good team victory."
Vereen carried the rock eight times for 39 yards and a touchdown. It was the first touchdown of his NFL career.
"I was just playing," he shrugged. "I saw [the defense] over-pursue [on the long run] and I cut back. The offensive line did a great job blocking for me," the rookie said.
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"Shane's a bright young player who has worked hard," offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien said on his conference call Tuesday. "[He] came back from an injury in the preseason with his hamstring and has worked hard to get back in there. Along with Danny [Woodhead] and Benny [BenJarvus Green-Ellis] last night, all three of those guys had solid games. Again, that's a solid position for us."
Vereen will definitely get his chance to make plays on special teams as a blocker and tackler, but he may find his workload in the backfield increase as the regular season winds down.
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