Posted on 04/20/2020 12:14:20 PM PDT by C19fan
‘Spurrier also had Fred Taylor’
yep, Fred was stud...
Guys like Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton, who played 10+ seasons, are rare. Most RBs have a shelf life of around 5 years. They also don't get better. If they haven't figured it out by their second year, they're not going to figure it out. Running backs live off power and speed. Neither of those get better as you age.
‘Hard to get other teams to take your first round busts.’
Fournette has been a slacker since his LSU days...
But the Nick Foles thing worked out pretty good, right?
To this day, what Emmitt did in that game against the Giants with the playoffs on the line and with a separated shoulder, is the all-time greatest performance I’d ever seen. And I’m not saying that just because he went to UF.
Great running backs, their greatest attribute is their field vision and the ability the see the holes where other running backs don’t.
Oh yeah. Par for the course for jax. Also, fournette has been lobbying lately to get Cam Newton here.
I’m not sure it’s him that is the problem. In 15 games last year he ran for over 1100 yards and had 76 receptions for another 500. But he only scored 3 touchdowns with all that. He got the yards, and the catches, but is not getting near the end zone. Something wrong with the system.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/F/FourLe00.htm
rwood
Anybody can get a lot of yards between the 20s.
It’s what you do on third-and-short and goal-line siuations that define a great running back.
A common feature of LSU draftees.
It’s not just LSU.
Interesting you mentioned that “Running backs live off power and speed.”
The two best backs I ever saw were Barry Sanders and Gale Sayers. Neither was large as Sanders was 5’7” 203 and Sayers was 6’0’ and 198. Their talent was not really speed or size, although Sander was a 4.37, it was their ability to cut and accelerate very quickly back up to their speed. Made them allusive as he(( in crowds and hard to judge in open field. Another person that never seemed to be judged at speed was Jerry Rice. He always had another gear. Both back’s careers were shortened but both had the ability to change directions at speed and get back the speed that was lost within a couple of steps at most.
rwood
Maybe the Jags will discount him to Threenette, or possibly Twonette...
I do still stand by my premise that those are skills that have to be present, and can't be coached beyond a point of diminishing returns. You're not going to coach an armadillo into outrunning a gazelle. With Tony Dorsett, the joke was his field of view was so good he could see his own ears.
A coach told me though, "you can't coach speed or size." If a guy doesn't have vision or cutting ability coming into his second year, he's not going to develop it. Now, sometimes, a back is stuck behind a lousy line, and a change of scenery can make all the difference. I've always wondered what Sanders or Sayers could have done on a team where they weren't the only weapon.
I think you have to consider the blocking scheme as much as the talent of the O line. The Niners ran well using zone blocking, misdirection, play action, a blocking TE and inarguably the best blocking FB in the league. Lamar Jackson accounted for half of the Raven’s rushing yardage using the zone read that Kaepernick made his splash with ten years ago. Houston made it to the playoffs using a power back to take on passing defenses. The good teams can do both and can stop both, power and scheme. IMHO the Niners lost the Super Bowl on the offensive side of the ball. Good offensive teams will score on anybody so have to be able to outscore them not hand your defense a 10 point lead in the 4th quarter and expect them to stop a good offense while you turn conservative on offense. KC played 8-9 Jan in the box the whole fourth quarter knowing SF wanted to run.
If course. The O-line matters, as does the blocking ability of tight ends and backs. But everyone will acknowledge that run blocking is easier for the O-line so you can make due with lesser talent if you emphasize the run. And you can take advantage of linemen pulling since they don't have to hold blocks against pass rushers, gaining an extra blocker at the gap.
IMHO the Niners lost the Super Bowl on the offensive side of the ball.
They inexplicably tried to switch to a passing attack in the 2nd half and it cooked them. Just like forcing a pass rather than running it on the goal line with Marshawn Lynch probably cost the Seahawks a Super Bowl.
Championship teams are built on the lines.
Vince Lombardi agrees.
Payton was always my favorite, mostly because I was a Bears fan. I enjoyed how he finished a run. You could tell he loved contact. As for Sanders, though, he was truly a remarkable talent, and had skills I’ve never seen before or since. Imagine his career if he had not been on the Lions. Another back I liked log ago was Earl Campbell. That was a guy that simply loves to run with the football.
Or when OJ rushed for 2,003 yards in 14 games. Nobody else ever did that. Too bad he lost his mind.
Agreed...but fans like points scored...attracting the fans is ruinning the game..
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.