I do not consider myself by any stretch of imagination a scout or some sort of a talent evaluator. With that said, I think this guy is a down hill runner, who isnt scared of contact. I haven't really followed him before, and as CK noted, he does not seem like a change of pace, or a 3d down back to me. His vision is so-so, I saw few plays where he was a cut away from hitting some green, but instead he just tried bulldozing over a defender. One also has to keep in mind, just like with Reggie Bush, that he played on a great team with great players around him, so that definetly made him look a bit better than he actually might be. Overall, I guess I wouldn't mind him on the team as the 3d back, between DT and another RB.


p.s. Dammit, it feels good to talk about football again.

 

I don't buy into basing my opinions of a player on a highlight video :shifty:

 

On a more serious note, I watch a lot of Falcons game and I believe the best part of Snelling's game is working those flat and underneath routes as a pass catching RB. He's a guy who can look to get you about 4-6 yards on any given play and take 8-10 snaps a game. And, as far as I see, that's his ceiling. That Cardinals game where he went nuts made people believe he's something that he's not. I don't see him as a change of pace back either, as you state. I see him more as a guy you put in when your starter needs a breather.

 

I'm not saying that Daniel Thomas is going to turn out to be anything great or even an upgrade over Ronnie/Ricky, because personally I still have my doubts about him, but his draft position wont be what determines that. If anything, recent history would indicate that he has a fair shot of being a productive back by being taken in the 2nd round. Matt Forte, LeSean McCoy, Maurice Jones-Drew, and Ray Rice are recent 2nd round pick RBs that have had, to this point, successful careers.

 

The first play was like a gain of 1/2 yard?

 

Still waiting for that emoticon of something going over someone's head...

 

I think people don't want to spend top dollar on a running back because we traded up for Daniel Thomas... which is completely understandable, IMO. I'd rather sign Jason Snelling and Marshall Yanda then just sign DeAngelo Williams, personally.

 

I would guess Ronnie or Ricky will be resigned, unless Daboll has a substantial role for Hilliard.

With Sheets coming off an achilles injury, he has to be the biggest question mark at this point.

I can't imagine how Snelling is an upgrade.

 

I wonder whom that is directed to?

 

One name that wouldn't shock me to see the Dolphins target is Snelling's teammate, Jarious Norwood. The good news is that he doesn't have a lot of wear on his tires. The bad news is that he's oft-injured and coming off an ACL tear.

 

If the Dolphins target Norwood, I would consider that basically grasping at straws. You're talking about a guy who was "one of the best RBs in school history" at a school where topping 1,000 rushing yards in a single seasons is a MAJOR accomplishment. The guy has started 6 games in 5 years in the NFL being unable to beat out a Warrick Dunn in the twilight of his career, and was subsequently replaced by Michael Turner. Factor in the ACL tear which will greatly diminish his speed, which was the sole attribute he had going for him, and I wouldn't touch the kid with a 10 foot pole.

 

I think for the money it'd cost to get the top tier FA running backs (Williams or Bradshaw), it'd be wiser to just get a lesser named running back (Darren Sproles, Reggie Bush, Jason Snelling, or even bring back Ronnie Brown) and a quality offense lineman. Just IMO.

 

Well, to me that makes sense, especially if they are saving their pennies, RW or RB, and bring in a younger back to push them, along with Hilliard and Sheets pushing, let the best Back win.

 

You have to draft and develop young talent.
Not much more to say really.

Like we have done with Hilliard.

 

Not this again

 

You know he's joking?

 

I think they are counting on Hilliard and Thomas this year along with whomever they sign. Reports are that Ireland believes that Hilliard has starting potential. I can't say I agree, but I do think that if the middle of the OL is blocking well that Hilliard is capable of filling in for a game or two as the starter or giving you 7-8 carries a game when your starter is healthy.

 

I think Lexxy would be a fine option Rafi, his 09 season was pretty good, he has nice size and compares well to Hillis/

 

I thought the same thing about Snelling. I'm not as high on him as Padre is, but I think he could be okay as split carries guy. As for the FA class in general, it's a large class but I don't see a lot to get excited about. I see much of the talent as marginal improvements over what we had last year and/or an injury or character risk. Of the names I've seen bandied about, I would say only Ray Edwards, Deangelo Williams and Bradshaw Shaw have talent that would really upgrade us. Edwards has questions about taking plays off. DW and Bradshaw have injury histories. (I actually think DW has top 5 at the position talent but that's useless if he's in the trainer's room). And Edwards is the only one that plays a position you should pay the (relatively) big bucks for.

 

Well, I'm not high on Lexxy per se, more or less I see him as a solid option that is fiscally responsible and think if Daboll can make Hillis productive he can do the same with Lexxy.

Lex also plays ST and does some of the things Cobbs used to do for us, so for me he is more like a pair of vice grips, just really useful to have around but not always the proper tool for the job, the 80/20 roster rule in effect.

 

Solid back whose name I've brought up before, he especially excels in blitz pickups.

To me, he is the sort of option they will go for as I suspect Ross is not just going to flip open the checkbook after Dansby and Marshall did not really deliver high impact results.

Think he will for a Qb though.

 

What type of contracts does everyone think these RBs will get in this market?

 

Snelling schmelling, we don't need that skillset on our roster..

 

I'm thinking 4-5 year deal in the $25-$30M range for Williams and Bradshaw.

 

If we're going beyond the first tier of free agents, I would tend to think Jerome Harrison would make a lot of sense. He's inexpensive, he's got limited wear and tear, and he's performed well in Daboll's offense.

 

Here's a very likely meaningless tidbit of info for Dolphans. Adrian Peterson had a 5 yr, $40M contract with Minny, highest paid RB in the NFL. This is the last year of the deal, and he is due over $10M. He is threatening a holdout without a new contract.