Patriots Country

EXCLUSIVE: Former RB Shane Vereen on Patriots' Problems

Shane Vereen spoke with Patriots Country about his time in New England, the state of football and what his successors are missing.

Geoff Magliocchetti

Creating a lasting role with the new century's New England Patriots is always a tall task. That challenge only gets heavier at the running back spot, home of seemingly endless potential but also the flash-in-the-pan heartbreak and even, arguably, the greatest one-hit wonder in NFL history. 

Shane Vereen was perhaps an exception to the trend. 

A second-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft (56th overall), Vereen left the west coast behind after a stellar collaboration at Berkeley alongside fellow future NFL runner Jahvid Best. Joining the well-established Tom Brady/Bill Belichick-led New England offensive group, Vereen lasted three seasons as the Patriots' primary back. While that may seem like a relatively short NFL lifespan, Vereen's breakout began a trend toward versatile running backs capable of contributing in both the running and passing games.

During the 2013 AFC Divisional playoffs, for example, only one Patriot (Deion Branch) had produced a postseason game with both a receiving and rushing touchdown. Vereen joined that elite company and then some: by adding an additional receiving score. He became just the third running back in NFL history (joining Roger Craig and Ricky Watters) to earn such a box score in postseason history, doing so in the Patriots' 41-28 win over the Houston Texans.

Two years later Vereen was the unexpected leading receiver in the Patriots' Super Bowl XLIX triumph, hauling in 11 receptions for 64 yards in the 28-24 win over Seattle. Vereen later spent time with both the New York Giants and New Orleans Saints and now serves as an analyst on Pac-12 Network. 

No stranger to New England hardships ultimately yielding football's ultimate prize, Vereen sat down with Patriots Country to discuss his time in the football world as well as what the current Patriots are missing on the path to their own Super Bowl run ...

(Special thanks to SafeBettingSites.com for making this interview possible)

Q: You're not far removed from your last NFL snaps. But the game, particularly on offense, has nonetheless changed dramatically. What do you think has changed the most and how do you think you would have adjusted to it if you were still playing?

A: I think I would have adjusted well. I think the way that the game has changed the most, in simplest terms, is that players are asked to know more and do more. I always prided myself as a running back that was not just getting handed the ball and running but being able to catch it out the backfield, be able to pass protect, be able to run routes, being used on special teams, if possible. 

My college coach always said to never put limits on yourself. So I really took that to heart and I started working on those other skills at college because I needed them to play in a pro-style offense at Cal. That really just carried over and gave me more opportunities. 

Nowadays, running backs are used just as much in the passing game as they are in the run game. Most of the offenses I see now seem like they would be really fun to play in for a player with my attributes. So I do look at it and sometimes get a little jealous. (laughs) I played in some great offenses, don't get me wrong but there are definitely more offenses similar to the one we had in New England in today's game.

Q: You were considered an anomaly in your heyday in the sense that you were contributing both on the ground and through the air. How does it feel to leave such a permanent, undeniable mark on the modern NFL?

A: It's good to be remembered. I put in a lot of work into my craft to be the best that I could be, and to feel like that's remembered and to feel like that has helped anybody coming after me, it's humbling and a big honor. 

I always had, in the back of my mind, the players that came before me, the Kevin Faulks, the Danny Woodheads, the Roger Craigs. I really was a big fan of Priest Holmes and I was a really big San Francisco 49ers fan growing up. Looking up to those guys, specifically, the ones that were on the Patriots and helped me, that was a huge key piece. I didn't want to let them down and I wanted to show them that hey, you showed me something. Now I'm putting my own spin on it and continuing to carry the torch.

Q: What made New England the perfect place to start your NFL career? 

A: I felt as though it was the offense that was best suited to the way that I played the running back position. Our offenses at Cal were fairly similar. I was with Jeff Tedford at Cal. We ran a very pro-style offense and it carried over extremely well to New England. The terminology was different but the concepts were pretty similar.

I just always felt that that was the place where I would have the most success, even before the draft. I didn't tell anybody that, but after I looked at the teams looked at all the players, watched some tape, I was like I could fit into that offense.

Lo and behold, I spent my entire life in California, grew up in Southern California, went to school in the Bay Area, and then I get drafted by the team farthest away from my hometown ... and it was perfect. It was absolutely perfect. 

I think it helped that I was drafted there. All I knew, coming from college, were tough, grueling practices. Granted, we didn't have two-a-days in the NFL, but the practices were tough, the meetings were hard and there were long hours. So it wasn't an easy transition, but it was easier to transition than it could have been. 

Q: The running back spot in New England has often been a revolving door, but you managed to make a lasting impression. What 's the key to creating longevity in a Bill Belichick system?

A: Preparation and being able to be trusted. That whole building is built on trust and if the coaching staff or Tom (Brady) doesn't trust you, you're not going to be on the field period. I had to shift my mentality to attacking practice as I would a playoff game or as I would a Super Bowl or a regular season game just really, really push myself during practice, when you're tired and when you've been in training camp and you can't stand each other. There's also pushing yourself, pushing myself to get one percent better each and every day, pushing myself to be as good as the best player that I can be not for myself but for my teammates and for this team, for this offense to be successful ... especially in my role as a third-down back.

As a third-down back, you only get one chance to get there. If the chains don't move, you're off the field. So, it's almost like every time I came onto the field, I had to be on key, I had to be on the same page with the offensive line, with the quarterback, and be where I'm supposed to be in order for us to be successful. I took that extremely seriously.

Q: As the modern Patriots embark on a postseason push, what's the best piece of advice you can offer them, especially toward a running back room featuring Rhamondre Stevenson, Damien Harris, and two rookies?

A: I can say just be ready when your number is called. New England is not a place that's about personal success. It's about team success. If you have these marks, these benchmarks that you have for yourself and you're not hitting them, it could take away from your production because you're worried about this, that, and the other. 

What I would tell them is to take advantage of the opportunities that you are given and be the best player you can be, not for yourself, but for the team. As soon as everybody's doing that, on the same page, you're going to win football games, you're going to win those close games. A lot of the NFL is coming down to winning close games, and that's the difference. It's one or two plays late in the game or one or two plays in the second quarter that might extend a drive. That is the difference between winning and losing. So each play matters. Each series matters, each down matters, and take that into account as you prepare for yourself, prepare for each game.

Q: Save for Tom Brady, what's the current Patriots group missing?

A: The one thing I can say I think that they're missing is just big plays, those 20, 30, 40-plus yard plays. I was fortunate enough to play with guys like Rob Gronkowski, play with guys like (Wes) Welker, Julian Edelman, (Danny) Amendola, those guys made big plays, especially in big moments when we needed it. 

Yes, there are a few guys who have made big plays, have had a few big games for the Patriots this season, but it's just not consistent enough. I think, regardless of who it is, creating and finding ways to create bigger plays would help the offense out tremendously.

Q: If called upon, would you return to the NFL realm, particularly in a coaching capacity?

A: Yes, I think so! I've always been interested in coaching ... but I don't want to move! A couple of my good friends are coaches and they're in this city for three, four years and they're in this city for five years, and then this to this city for one, this city for another five. That instability of having your home base, your home roots, is just the one thing that would be tough for me to kind of get past.

But I love the game I still pay attention. I still watch a lot of football, I do NFL Radio and I cover college football for the Pac-12 Network, so I'm still very close to the game. But I haven't completely shut out the idea of coaching.

Q: As someone in tune with the college football scene, what are your thoughts on where it's headed? As someone who skipped his senior season to go to the draft, what do you think of the ongoing fascination with the transfer portal?

A: College football is in a crazy spot right now, it's the wild wild west. You can transfer as many times as soon as you can within your five years, so that's one thing. As far as playing in bowl games, not playing in bowl games, I think that that matters. If I'm a player in the modern bowl game, for instance, if I was in a position to make that decision where we're playing in the Rose Bowl, I'm going to play in the Rose Bowl.

What went into my decision to leave (early) was that I had graduated. I think I was 20, 21 years old, I went over 1000 (yards), so I hit that mark. I felt like I had enough good tape out there that it didn't make sense for me, because I graduated, to stay another year when I could take that year in the NFL and learn and get paid for it. We weren't getting paid in college at all, living on very, very few funds, but we still made the most of it (laughs). I just felt that it was my time and, deep inside me and my family felt, that this was just the right time to make that decision. 

Q: You've worked with some of the finest football names at some of the finest football institutions. What's the best thing anyone's told you, in terms of advice or guidance, in those career stops? 

A: One thing I can say about me and Jahvid Best is that we came in together in the same class at Cal. It was a constant battle between me and him in a sense where if he makes a play in practice or in a game, then it was my turn, I've got to make a play in practice and he's looking at it the same way. 

My very first touchdown was against Michigan State. It was an 81-yard run and we come back and all he said to me is I've got to get it back I've got to get you back. Every time he made a big play, coming off the field, I'm looking at him like, I've got to go get you now! It was that healthy competition that broke any semblance of being jealous he's getting more carries or more snaps. It was never about that. It was a healthy competition where we were pushing each other to be better and to see who can make the biggest plays. We make we kind of call ourselves homerun hitters in terms of who can make the biggest plays, who could come back and second and do that better. 

I think that that competition forced me and pushed me throughout the rest of my years playing the game of football. If I saw somebody make a big play, whether it's a receiver, running back, or a returner, I told myself, okay, I've got to go get one now. That's the biggest thing that helped motivate me for the rest of my career.

Q: You grew up in an athletic family, as both your father and brother likewise partook in professional football. How did that foster your sense of competition?

A: Growing up every single day was a competition, especially with my little brother, whether it was basketball in the backyard, whether it was video games, or whether it was who could get to the top of the stairs the fastest. (laughs) 

But the most competitive person in our family was my mother. 

There was an unwritten rule: if you played my mother in something, it could be a board game, pool, it doesn't matter. do not let her win. If she wins, you're going to be hearing about it for the next however many days or weeks or months until it's until she wants to play against you again. My dad is very laid back, my brother's very laid back until you get them riled up. My trash-talking, all of my like competitive edge, all that came from her. 

I was never one to trash talk, but if you ever said something to me, I had stuff in my head, I just wasn't going to say anything. If you said something to me, I was going fire back and now we're going to say, okay, I'm in your ear now. it's funny. We grew up, we all love competition, we all love sports. But at the end of the day, my mom was easily the most competitive and the biggest trash talker. So that's where I got most of my competitive finesse, if you will.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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Geoff Magliocchetti
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI

Geoff Magliocchetti

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