There you go Maynard, if Running Backs have been devalued then why spend a scarce resource, a high draft pick, for one?
Don't take up the debate with me DJ. Trowa is the one who seems to think he's a lousy QB because he failed to win in his third superbowl appearance by less than 1 TD. As for my opinion, I think he's a very good, possibly great QB and I think one can make an argument that he is elite.
Exactly. We need an impact player with our first round pick. And the impact a 1rst round RB would have over players already on our roster or another RB to be drafted in the middle rounds is likely to be negligible. I wonder if the Bills feel like they're getting their money's worth with C.J. Spiller. Even those 1st round RBs who are impact players - A.P. and Chris Johnson, those guys cannot carry a team on their own without a capable QB.
Exactly... You'd think as 'phin fans and having Ricky run all over the league for 2 years we'd remember that. He was awesome, but the offense overall was not very good thanks to Jay Fiedler...try as he might
And were one and done both those years because without a good QB, the offense stagnates. Then they get Favre after his deal with the devil and they're an overtime possesion away from the super bowl. AP was perfectly healthy and running wild this year...and Favre was horrible, how did that work out for them?
Nah, they then acquired Wr's like Rice and a te like Shinacoe, Troy Williamson had busted out at that point and their Wr corps was bad. And look at them now, Favre is long gone, TJax is leaving, they are in a worse place than they were when TJax was learning on the job, they have no Qb and have no real prospects at Qb, they will have to draft one, or hope Joe Webb is a NFL Qb though he switched to Wr and played at UAB a lower division school.
Yup..they should've let TJax ride it out to at least find out what they have. Now they officially have nothing.
I don't know if they really consider one of their runners a feature back so to speak. One thing I can say for certain about Tony's philosophy when it comes to running the ball is that he believes in the two back approach. When he called the plays for Dallas in 2006, his top two backs were Julius Jones and Marion Barber. Their carries split 267 to 135 respectively. In 2007, Tony wasn't the main play caller but he still had a big hand in Dallas's run game. That year, Marion Barber had 204 rush attempts while Julius Jones had 164 rush attempts. Miami 2008: Ronnie 214 rush attempts, Ricky 160 rush attempts Miami 2009: Ricky 241 rush attempts, Ronnie 147 rush attempts Miami 2010: Ronnie 200 rush attempts, Ricky 159 rush attempts It is very, very unlikely that any running back in Miami as long as Tony Sparano is around will get 300+ carries. The running game will likely continue to feature two backs instead of one "feature" back. For this reason, I'm not 100% convinced that Miami will use a first round pick on a running back. The thing that throws me off is that Mark Ingram is the prototype running back for this organization. He's a physical runner who is decisive and quick to the hole, has great vision and balance, and can gain yards after contact. He's a lot like a Marion Barber type of runner, though I think Ingram has a better burst and better vision. Even though he is the prototype for this team, I'm not convinced they value the position enough to use a first round pick on it. It's hard to justify using a first on a runner when you go into it knowing that he will likely get between 200 and 250 carries and will not be the featured runner so to speak. I doubt Jeff saying this is an attempt to create a smoke screen. Honestly, how many in the NFL are going to think that because Jeff said this, they aren't going to look at Mark Ingram in the first round. Heck, you can look at Jeff's history and see that he has never drafted a runner in the first round. It may not mean much because it is a small sample size, but there's no history of it. I think what Jeff is essentially saying is that we can find a running back that fits what we want later on in the draft, and he uses Lex Hilliard as an example of finding a guy in the later rounds that he feels can gain 1,000 yards if given the opportunity. The guy I think Jeff is sold on at this point and wouldn't be surprised to see Miami take him in round one - Colin Kaepernick.
A lovely scenario to happen, depending on Ckaps value come draft time, and whether or not Irish can recoup that pick by trading a current player, is Aquiring both..Ingram/Ckap.. ?...would you be excited if this scenario were to take place? and knowing that the kid did not play in a prosystem, do you like his skillset?...
Would I be crazy about it? No. Would it be as bad as trading up to get Cam Newton? No. Colin Kaepernick is not my type of quarterback, but based on watchin some of his games, the guy does have some pocket ability. I've seen much more pocket ability out of Kaepernick than I have Newton. Then when I was digging into his background some, I saw that this is a player that Chris Ault actually had to make into a dual threat when he initially got to Nevada. In high school, Kaepernick did not run a spread offense and was not the focal point of his team's running game. He was a pocket guy that completed 113 of 188 passes during his senior season. When he got to Nevada, Chris Ault basically told him that he had enough athleticism that he could use both his arm and his feet. He has not been prepared to be an NFL quarterback, but if you look at that Nevada offense and the way Colin played in it at times, he has some experience with drops. He's taking his snap mostly at four yards, and on a lot of passing plays, he has done modified 3 step drops from where he takes the snap. He works well off of play action. Unlike Cam Newton, Colin Kaepernick has shown me that he actually has good field vision. He's going to need coaching. Colin needs to clean up his footwork on his drops, and he's got to get used to taking snaps from under center. He's also going to have to work hard to do more reading of the defense during his drop and not wait till his back foot is planted to start scanning the field. The kid is going to make a Joe Flacco type of climb in this draft, and I predict that he will be a first round pick in April. Someone is going to fall in love with the arm, funky release and all.
Appreciate your post and willingness to look at prospects with backgrounds you aren't crazy about but why can't Newton elarn the same skills that Kapernick needs to work on. Why the double standard?
I didnt pick up a double standard in his post, I think most of us have an idea of KB's opinion on QB'ing, the post told me that he believes Ckap has more potential than Newt to play from the pocket, go thru reads and progressions, and deliver from the pocket..... This is good news...KB kinda likes a dual threat QB...lol...personally I think its a secret mancrush..lol
He's got no feel for the passing game at all. From his high school days to Florida to Blinn JC to Auburn, he has played in offenses that make his reads easy. He's been a one read and run type of player his enitre career. He has little feel for the pocket. His accuracy is pumped up by short, easy completions. He is a long, long way from being a pocket passer in the NFL.
behind a dominating offensive line having said that 1) both Ricky & Ronnie could have another good year to run with the right offensive line 2) although, I like Mark Ingram as a first round pick. he has the potential to be our future franchise RB 3) agree with Sparano: I see Hilliard as more of a Receiving-FB & ST item
There is no double standard. As I stated above, I see no pocket ability whatsoever with Cam Newton, and unlike Colin Kaepernick, Cam Newton isn't a guy who was a pocket passer that had to be convinced to use his athleticism. Know how many rushing yards Colin Kaepernick had in his high school career? NEGATIVE 50. Of course, he was a 170 lbs quarterback in high school, and his coaches didn't run him because they were afraid he would get hurt. It's a lot easier to work on a few minor things with a guy that has a solid base of passing instincts like Kaepernick than it is to completely change a player's game from runner to passer once he gets to the NFL.
1000 TOTAL yards, maybe if he's given the ball 50%+ of the time. I just don't see Hilliard as that premier back and nowadays, it's not as easy to get to 1000 yards rushing.
To add to this, Cam Newton is a player that has never been a drop back passer at any level. He has never played in a pro style offense, has never been coached to be a drop back pocket passer. How long do you legitimately think it will take to teach him to be a drop back passer in the NFL, particularly when there are quarterbacks who have played in pro style systems and have been drop back passers from their high school days on up that come into the league and still take 2-3 years to develop to the point that they are starting caliber players if they ever get to that point? He only has 14 starts at the division 1 level. Aaron Rodgers had 22 starts at California in a pro style offense, and it took him 2 years to get to the point that he was ready to start and didn't come into his own until year 4 or 5 out. Colin Kaepernick is a guy who has 49 career starts at the division 1 level. Granted, starts didn't mean much for Pat White, but we are talking about another quarterback who was never a drop back passer at any level who the Dolphins foolishly thought they could turn into a drop back passer.
Hilliard is way too slow to be much more than a 3rd or 4th RB. He has some power but he's not a starting RB. I'd take 50 other RB's in the league over him. Don't know what that's about. And, I don't see anyone wanting to take him in a trade. I'd rather draft a guy with upside in the 6th round than trade a 6th rounder for him.
