FOXBORO -- For five minutes and 21 seconds, Shane Vereen looked like the skilled, shifty running back the Patriots took in the second round out of California last year.
The Patriots began their first drive of the second half in the shadow of their own end zone, at the three yard line, and they rode Vereen the length of the field. He carried 11 times for 64 yards and caught two passes for 17 yards. Brian Hoyer finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown pass to Britt Davis, but Vereen had been the obvious catalyst.
"We wanted to get going," Vereen said after New England's 7-6 preseason win over the Saints. "We wanted to get the offense rolling and I think we did a good job of that."
Throughout training camp, the No. 1 running back's job has belonged almost exclusively to Stevan Ridley. That Vereen was getting fewer reps made sense. Ridley proved himself to be a talented (if not always sure-handed) back last season. And because of injury, Vereen played in just five games in 2011, finishing with 15 carries for 57 yards.
Now that he's healthy, Vereen wants to make the most of the chances he receives from New England's coaching staff.
"You're only given so many opportunities," Vereen said. "To be able to go out there and play well as an offense -- we still have a ton of work to do as an offense -- but for that little drive I felt like the offense, we did pretty well."
Ridley and Vereen came in to the league together. The irony of their current status as starter and backup is that Vereen was selected with a higher pick; Ridley was a third-round choice. Vereen insisted, though, that the two aren't competing for a spot. They're still too busy picking up tips from one another, he said.
"I think more than trying to one-up each other we're trying to learn from each other as far as mistakes," Vereen said. "We both make a ton of mistakes so we learn from that. If he makes a mistake doing one thing, I'll know on my rep not to make the same mistake and vice versa. I think as far as competitiveness is concerned, we try to go out there and do the best we can to make the team, the run game a lot better."
Both running backs looked strong on Thursday. Ridley ran for 40 yards on eight carries. He looked as though he was getting to the edge quickly and finishing his runs hard.
"We're a very young group and I think we came out and we did what the coaches asked us to do and did an OK job," Ridley said. "But I know there are gonna be improvements they're gonna ask us to make."
After last season, Vereen is happy to be able to correct the mistakes he's made. It means he's healthy. It means he's getting an opportunity to play.
"I just wanted to go out there and to be the best I could for the team," Vereen said. "It's as simple as that. I was excited because it's been so long since I played with the injuries and everything, but I just wanted to go out and perform as well as I could with the team."
On Thursday night, he put together 5:21 he can build on.