Patriots RB Shane Vereen has been mostly invisible since being selected in the 2nd round of the 2011 draft. He was plenty visible in the team's playoff win over the Texans on Sunday. With RB Danny Woodhead exiting early on with a thumb injury, Vereen stepped into the pass-catching role. He finished with 5 grabs for 83 yards and 2 TDs, tacking on another 41 yards and a score on the ground. Vereen displayed WR-like route-running in the passing game while often lining up outside the numbers. That was the case on his 33-yard TD, when he simply ran past LB Barrett Ruud. Vereen was also productive on the ground, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. Stevan Ridley is still the lead back in New England's traditional offense -- he finished with 15 carries on Sunday. But Vereen certainly brings more play-making ability as the no-huddle back than Danny Woodhead. We'll see about Woodhead's injury, but Vereen will be the better fantasy bet against the Ravens this coming weekend.
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