He will be ok. I have faith in him. He is a stud at the RB position. There is a reason they kept him around, and he has good hands.

 

He scares me, showed he doesn't protect the ball well in preseason against backups. Now he will face starters. I sure hope Ricky is rdy to handle a major load.

 

Lex Hilliard also was not running with our starting O line I don't believe. And even if he was, they were not the same O line in the first 3 weeks that they are right now.

One thing is for sure, we'll find out if he's a bust tonight. If he can't pick up some yards against the 27th ranked run defense, he's likely not worth our time.

 

the guys basically a rookie.....he will get his first nfl carry tonight.....a little early to call him a bust....regardless of what he does (which i think he will do well)

 

not to worry:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DysNAn68Dqc"]YouTube- The Best Of Ricky Williams[/ame]
Lex & Polite will compliment the attack.

 

He was on the roster because of special teams play. He isn't a current or future option at rb.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

you cant possibly say that....we drafted him....hes a bruising type running back....learning under ronnie and ricky can pay dividends....im not saying hes gunna be the next michael turner.....but he can be a good running back....i dont see how you've seen enough to say otherwise

 

While i do believe Ricky would rather not be the bruiser he once was i see him up for this challenge.

In some of those runs that were recent when he's with ronnie and he hit the endzone he walked proud. He was happy for accolades which shows he still has desire. Let go phins:up:

 

I really hope Polite only gets the usual short yardage carries...I think Ricky will be fine I think he'll be able to carry a big load he is def in the best shape of any of our backs.

 

the only question:
will the Orca-5 dominate the line of scrimmage?
if they do
Ricky will run all over them:party:

 

Lets see if he truly is a T-Lex.

 

now we should be a harder running team. im saying harder. not necessarily better. definitely less dynamic though.
i like Ronnie, but he dances too much before shooting a gap. he needs to stop hesitating and pound through like Ricky STILL does. i was impressed with Lex in the preseason. he seems to run pretty hard.

and he looks hungry too. i swear he is the FIRST guy there on kick off coverage 98% of the time.

 

i have to admit i'm a little frustrated that of all teams for hilliard to play the most against in the preseason, it had to be the panthers.

that's just bad luck for us.

but good luck to him!

 

Lex will be fine... I have enough confidence in him to start him in my fantasy league... Well, that and Westbrook can't go... Nothing against Ricky, but he's getting old for a RB, and I don't think he will dominate the game tonight

 

Lex Hilliard made this football team as a running back that is being developed. No one really knew what he would add as a special teams player. We didn't want to lose him to another team because he has future value to us as a running back. I'm not sure where you get your twisted information but you my friend are dead wrong. Worst first post in the history of the interwebs. j/k :wink2:

 

lex hilliard said, "Oh the center had a holding penalty when i broke out for 12 yards in my first regular season rushing attempt. no problem, ill try it again, and this time ill get 18 yards."

 

I like lex's first 2 carries, albeit one was called back, and his catch... He immediately covered up the ball and protected it when he got drilled... I hope he keeps it up...

 

Lex looked really good playing. He had some great plays. The entire team looked great. If we keep playing this way you never know what might happen....

GO DOLPHINS!!!!!!!!

 

Lex looks like a solid 2nd back. He MUST prove he has outside speed though, or this league will overcommit to shutting him down inside.

 

Problem is I don't the he can prove he has outside spead, simply because he doesn't have it. :lol:

I was trying to think of backs that were productive that didn't have that speed and were an in between the tackles runner. I can't think of many though.

 

there's the Bus....zonk...Riggins....Ironhead heyword just to name a few:up:

 

there was a reason the staff found a way (STs) to keep him on the roster .... he has solid potential.

he doesn't need to have the speed to get to the outside, while preferred .... with our OL, if they can open up holes - he can be our big back ...

 

He is not very shifty, however he is tough to bring down. I would like to see him get more carries.

 

x2

i'd like to see him involved more and ricky involved less - not because i don't have faith in ricky, but because ricky is 32 and can't recover as well as he could when he was younger. let's let ricky last the rest of the year and get hilliard more involved. :up:

 

I'd love to see him be our up the gut back, or even taking over Ricky's spot in the WC.

He seems like the kind of guy that as he progresses, he'll be breaking tackles like a fiend. He's definitely a power back, and knows how to keep his head down and plow the field. As far as speed on the outside, I think he could probably be reliable running to the outside out of the WC where he can go into motion and take the handoff from Ronnie.

Bottom line if he can get us 12 and 18 yard runs semi-consistently, I don't care what formation you put him in, you could have him being piggy backed by Polite for all I care, I'll be a happy camper :)

 

he seems to outrun EVERYONE on special teams plays 98% of the time. so he has to have some speed.

 

I meant homerun type speed, but I didn't clarify that. He doesn't have THAT type speed. He will get caught from behind. Not that I care. He was a 6th round pick wasn't he? I am happy we kept him.

 

he's kind of our poor man's version of brandon jacobs. did a great job for us last night

 

I do know what you're saying. I also agree Hilliard doesn't have the speed to run outside the tackles, turn up field and get much.
I think most of his production is going to have to come from straight up the gut. On the other hand, he runs with an awful lot of power. If he can get a head of steam going along with a key block or two I could see him dragging a defender into the endzone with him. But IMO that'll be the exception and not the rule.
I'll be happy if Hilliard can get us 3-5 ypc. Anything more is probably asking too much out of him.
I can also see him being a significant contributor next week against the Bills. Their run defense is giving up more than the Panthers - 5.1 ypc and 173. ypg.
http://profootballweekly.com/nfl/statistics/teams/

 

Mike Alstott seems like a somewhat reasonable comparison in the best case scenario.

The guy though whom Lex reminds me of the most is Jacob Hester. Any SEC fans in recent years should remember him. I've made that comparison 2-3 times on the forum and never got anyone to agree, so who knows, maybe I'm all wet. :wink2:

 

Can't say i see it. But thats just cause when i think of Hester i think of God.

(...should clarify, im an LSU fan...)

 

From Wikipedia:

4.66 ain't fast. But, to the poster who mentioned him being a poor man's Brandon Jacobs, the fact that the Giants liked him might suggest he fints the Jacobs template a bit. Hilliard, however, is far less tlaented and his measurables far less impressive, imo.

Hilliard is fairly nifty for a guy who runs with as much power as he does. With this o-line opening holes, he should always be hitting second level tacklers at full speed. When he does that, he is big enough to usually get a few more yards as he is being tackled.

I think the thing to watch for with Lex will be his inexperience leading to the wrong decisions. Will he choose the wrong hole, be too impatient and not let a play develop, or perhaps miss a blocking assignment on third down?

Time will tell. I'm glad he has had some experience and is not a total rookie, at least.

 

I like the depth we have behind Ricky, even without Brown we still have enough talent for a solid unit.

That being said, I want to see Williams standing on the sideline as little as possible. Asking him to carry us for these next seven games is the only real shot we have at the division title or playoffs. I know he likes to save himself from too much abuse....but I'm hoping they just woke up the Beast of the East and he's recognized what a great position he is in right now.

Stepping in and leading us to a successful defense of our division title would force history to be a lot more kind to him. How can he not be foaming at the mouth for this opportunity? I think he is.....and he should be. On most Sundays he'll be the best player in the stadium. Like he was Thursday and like he'll be when he runs out onto the field in Buffalo next Sunday.

Ricky is just the guy to pull this off.........let's hope hope they ask him to.

 

Unless the Panthers LB's and DB's are slower than 4.66, I would say Lex improved his speed since the combine... On that TD in the preseason, I checked, and there were a lot of 1st or 2nd stringers on both sides of the ball... I don't really think they run 40's at practice very much... I would think that would be a low priority... But if he is an inside the OT or OG runner, as long as he can break tackles, I see no issues... My concern is adapting him to running around the outside and trying to beat the Will or Sam that way... He's big enough to be a linebacker weight wise, so I have no problem with him hitting the A gap and blasting a Mike or Rover for 5 yards at a time... We saw he isn't afraid to blast people... But obviously, some teams are excellent against the run on the line, and most run the 4-3, so he will have to be used in both situations, and be ready to bounce outside and "adjust fire" at any given time... At any rate, as a Montana fan, it's good to see him and Dan Carpenter playing when I get the chance... Go GRIZ, beat the KITTENS!!!

 

I think lex will gradually get more and more carries. Also, i think he may be a bit more valuable in the passing game than some think.

 

He looked good. I have never been a Ronnie Brown fan, though I always wished he'd prove me wrong.

But for such a high draft pick, and now 2 major injuries that has once again put Ronnie Brown out for the entire season, what good does a player do you, if he's injury prone....?

Hopefully Lex Hilliard can fill the void.

d-1

 

Hillard reminds me alot of Mike Alstott.

 

the Perfect Storm in the Conventional Offense: Polite, Hilliard & Ricky Williams
will blow you away :yes: running behind the Orca-5: