Yeah he is a beast big psychical guy who is a great runner that Oregon running back looks well on his way to being solid too don't know his name
Ex-Chiefs GM Scott Pioli on Lacy: " Low-mileage rusher (355 carries in three seasons with the Tide) who played behind two outstanding backs early in his career (Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson). Averaged 6.8 yards per rush in his college career behind an offensive line better than some NFL lines. Good receiving skills, and a willing blocker. He should be an every-down back in the NFL." source: http://nflsfuture.com/2013/01/28/ex...s-underclassmen-draft-notebook-to-peter-king/
Not really impressed with Taylor looking at Johnathan Franklin highlights he is a excellent RB he is fast and can cut a great WCO HB just watched his game against Nebraska
Check out Dennis Johnson from Arkansas. He really reminds me of Doug Martin. I dont think he is as explosive, but he has a the exact same build and has a very similar running style. He took over for Kniles Davis when he started to suck and was the lead back. He is a 5th year senior but doesnt have too many carries. He's one of the better 3rd down back in college football. I think he could be a very good sleeper, and am extremely interested in what he does in the 40. If he runs around a 4.5 I would be very intrigued. Also, from what Ive seen, his OL is one of the worse run blocking OLines Ive seen. They hardly opened upped holes and Johnson met a lot of defenders in the backfield. I dont really see why he's not brought up here at all. Ive never seen his name tossed around. I would say he's on a similar level as Jonathan Franklin, Mike Gillislee, Christine Michael, Andre Ellington and Leveon Bell. Some tape here- http://draftbreakdown.com/dennis-johnson
Pioli's list shows you exactly why he got fired in KC. He's got 3 guys in his top 10 who may not get taken in the 1st round, and Escobar isn't even in the top half of the draft on a lot of lists. The NFL Advisory Council told him he might go as high as the 3rd round.
On RB's in general: I think they're really under-valued in this era. The thing that the best offenses do these days is to create mismatches all over the field in the passing game and then work everything else off of that. A classic stud RB may well be less valuable than the mainstays of the 80's and 90's in that kind of offensive flow. That doesn't mean that running backs are less valuable though, just that one dimensional runners don't have the kick they used too. Marshall Faulk would be absolutely owning in this environment because not only was he a great runner but he was also a better receiver than most wide receivers. Put him out in space on a linebacker and you had a first down. In his day that meant he was often covered by a safety or even a nickel corner if the other team didn't have good cover linebackers. Today, with the spread and the double tight end offenses there'd be nobody left to cover Faulk. He'd have a linebacker by default, or even a 6th defensive back put in to cover him, at which point he'd be running wild against the small defense. When I look at Eddie Lacy and Giovanni Bernard I see a classic stud running back, in Lacy and a versatile mismatch creator in Bernard. That's why I think Lacy is a much worse bet for the Jets than Bernard if that's the choice. Why would the Jets take a RB who caught 35 balls in 3 years over a guy who caught 92 in 2? I just don't understand the decisions the Jets have made on backs in the draft over the last decade or so. They treat them like they're just for running the ball. Then they're surprised when the offenses are one-dimensional and they don't have the flexibility to exploit the other team's weaknesses on defense. Shonn Greene caught 11 balls at Iowa. He had 8 catches his senior year. How on earth was that worth trading up for at the cost of extra picks? Bilal Powell caught 12 balls his junior year and 18 as a senior. How was that going to turn into a versatile threat out of the backfield, even if he hit his upside? Joe McKnight was better at just over 20 catches a season but he still wasn't what you are looking for out of a play maker these days because he didn't seem likely to be able to carry any kind of load coming out of USC. Edit: and don't bring up Leon Washington because he was a smurf who was going to be the 3rd down back and KR. He just played a lot more in 2006 because the alternatives were Kevan Barlow and Cedric Houston. What you need is for the back who is in on 1st down to be able to create mismatches in the passing game. You need him to be in on 2nd down also to carry the ball on 2nd and whatever to keep the defense honest. Washington was great at what he did but he was never the guy the Jets planned to have out there in their main offense.
Greene and Powell were never intended to be versatile backs. They were drafted as hard nosed down hill runners because our coach wanted to have a power running ball control offense that ate up clock and wore out a defense. The passing game was supposed to work off play action and deep throws. A perfect offense... In 1975. You can knock the style all you want, but they fit the offense they were drafted for perfectly.
You look at a guy like Thomas Jones who other than one outlier year in Chicago routinely wouldn't catch more than 30-35 passes in a season. Greene was supposed to be more a guy in that mold. The problem is having two of them in him and Powell makes them extremely redundant.
Having a back who can't catch the ball well is what is so limiting in today's game. If he is capable of carrying the ball 300 times for 1400 yards he mitigates the damage some but he's still not ideal until he hits the really big numbers on the ground. What you should be looking for in an offense right now is three key positions. You want a big TE who can block and catch the ball. He doesn't have to be a game-breaker but he does need to create matchup problems for the guys trying to cover him. You want a HB who is good in space and can catch the ball and who runs well enough to keep the defense honest. He doesn't have to be Barry Sanders or Marshall Faulk but he does need to be good enough that he can line up in the slot and force the defense to account for him in the spread. You want an H-back who can block and catch the ball well and who can line up on the line of scrimmage as a second TE, in the backfield in pass protection, in the slot in the spread or even as a lead blocker when that's what you are looking for. Those three guys give you tremendous flexibility without ever changing the personnel on the field. You can go from a full spread to a normal pro-set without ever making a substitution. If the other team has their nickel package in you can run the ball down their throats but if they go big then you have multiple receivers capable of taking advantage of that also. If they're blitzing you have the potential to pull the H-back back into the back-field for max protect.
Agreed 100%. I think on good teams there is a role for Greene, but not how the Jets were planning on using him. The bad news, is unless you believe in Josh Baker or Joe McKnight, the Jets have none of the above players you mention.
The Jets definitely have some work to do on the personnel on that side of the ball. I'd just hate to see them bring in a RB who will be limiting them because the only thing he's good at is running the ball. Those guys have to be top end of the curve or they're a waste of space. See Shonn Greene as a primary example of that phenomenon.
Just to get a read on your opinion- how do you view Eddie Lacy in comparison to your view on what we need?
If the Jets think Lacy can catch 45 balls a year out of the backfield then he's a good choice. He's been playing behind one of the best offensive lines in the country in Alabama and he wasn't the best guy on that roster before this year. Both of those are important things to consider when you look at his performance.
