I'm trying to get a sense as to why people think he was so amazing. He didn't do anything impressive this season. He averaged 3.97 yards a rush, which isn't too impressive. He doesn't run people over. He's not super fast. He's an okay change of pace back to give the starter rest but no matter what, it's the things he can't change (He's not going to become a lot faster or bigger) that will prevent him from being really good. So what did I miss this year that makes people on here rave so much about him?
If they do they shouldn't. He's not good. He averaged the same YPC as Greene even with the advantage of being the passing down back (3rd down backs usually get more YPC as they run into 8 man fronts less often.)
Powell is a great back, he sees holes, hits them quick and is also solid in pass protection and catching out of the back field he fights for extra yards and has a nice cut. The problem is teams stacked the box vs us this year so he rarely had any holes or running room but unlike Greene he didn't just fall when he got touched. Boom Boom Powell is a great role player for our team and would be best served splitting carries with a workhorse
Well, he certainly doesn't run people over like Greene can. And he averaged barely 0.1 yards more per rush than Greene so I wouldn't say he did anything superior to Greene.
He is a slightly quicker but smaller version of Greene. He can catch a little better. But thats not saying much because Greene couldnt catch a 4ft long pillow thrown from 2 ft away. He is a change of pace back when the #1 back needs a blow. Greene can battering ram guys if he gets a few steps. Powell cant. I think some of Powell's late season standout runs are more attributed to a spurt here and there of good O-line play rather than him being any sort of feature back potential. But I will say Powell has wayyyy better ball carrier vision than Greene.
I do think he spots the lanes better, but despite that, it didn't seem to give him any kind of advantage on the field. Most of his big runs seemed to just come from plays where the o-line showed up and made great blocks. I didn't see Powell making guys miss or anything for large gains. I just don't see how his ceiling can be so high when he's just not as physically talented.
he's a solid player with potential lets see how he plays next season, because that would be the deciding factor to see whether he will be more than just a backup.
Powell's serviceable but will most likely be fighting for a spot once this roster gets overhauled with the new GM. RB is a big position of need for Jets 2013 draft/FA.
Mcknight isnt the guy I believe. So he will be on special teams next year if he stays with the team. Greene or Powell will be with the team next year but not both. Since Greene is a free agent and Powell isnt (i believe, right?) it will likely be powell.
Powell isn't a back to love. He's a 4th round pick who will be cheap on the cap for another couple of seasons and provide the Jets with a decent rotational back. If he's more than that we're lucky but what he does is worth something. Ideally the Jets get a good every down back in here via the draft this year and Powell becomes his change-of-pace. Powell's not a particularly good 3rd down back and using him that way is not likely to provide advantage. Using him when the mainstay needs a rest or the Jets really want to run the ball 35 times in a game is the best role for him.
He's a rotational back, seems to see the hole better than Greene, seems to block better than Greene and seems to catch better than Greene. However, Greene wears defenses down, great in short yardage, and can just run through more tackles than Powell it seems. Together, they could be a successful 1/2 combo, by themselves, it owuld be more difficult to be excited about them as they aren't the elite level of Rice,McCoy, Foster, etc and the other world AP
Either Powell or Greene is a 1B at best. Need a better guy to take the majority of the carries. Powell does everything decently but nothing particularly stands out. Running back is one position the Jets need to look to upgrade. With Powell under contract, it makes most sense to draft someone new to complement Powell. Or sign a value free agent.
He makes good cuts and can change direction quickly. He showed flashes of ability that lead me to believe hed be good in a platoon or trio of RBs. Not a feature back, those are hard to find. I think bringing back Greene cheap is possible. Drafting a RB and having he/Greene/Powell as the trio of RBs would be solid imo.
A 3.97 yard average for a 3rd down back is nothing spectacular - unless the QB is mark sanchez who is incapable of throwing a screen pass or dump off that isn't at their feet or over their head. Any unbiased observer who watched all the Jet games this year knows that Powell ran better then Greene (for whatever that is worth). He doesn't consistently run into the backs of his blockers and has shown he has some vision. He definitely came on in the latter part of the year and he is worth keeping around for a low salary to see what he can do with an actual NFL qb.
Solid running back with potential and where not paying him much. Don't see anything special in Powell but who knows with a better o-line and better passing game maybe he can be similar to how T.J. was for us in 08-09.
