If you own Patriots running back Shane Vereen, you were probably excited to start him after his two-touchdown performance last week. And you had every reason to be. He was even the CBSSports.com Start of the Week for his matchup against the Bears.
But unfortunately, the one thing that could ruin him in Week 8 (other than injury, of course) came to fruition. The ever-clever Patriots out-clevered everyone again, deciding that a more traditional running back -- specifically, the heretofore unknown Jonas Gray -- would be a better fit for their game plan. He did fine, rushing for 86 yards on 17 carries, so you can't really fault the Patriots. But dang, a little heads-up would have been nice.
But of course, Bill Belichick wouldn't be Bill Belichick if he gave heads-ups to the media, and he's been around long enough for us to know what getting with him and the Patriots offense. They've always liked to mix and match at running back. Losing their preferred option doesn't change anything.
So is Vereen still valuable in Fantasy? Sure, in PPR leagues and as an every-now-and-then play in standard leagues. But now that Gray appears to have the Stevan Ridley role, you could argue he's just as valuable.