This is what I'm talking about. His size works for him at the goal line just because his weight gives him the momentum to carry him over. But give him the ball on a clean 3rd and 4 and the two yards kills you. It's strange that Mangini takes him completely out of the rotation only less than a week after stating we were keeping the rotation as it is. Could he have been studying the videos closely (ones similar to the one Baamf came up with, especially the Chad hit), and made an about-face with Barlow? Either way, it doesn't look good for Barlow being here after January. We need an overhaul and re-evaluation anyway, so it's no big deal as far as I'm concerned.
Mediocre RB's are a dime a dozen, and Barlow hasn't really shown anything that would justify keeping him around. Who knows what will happen with Leon Washington but when he touches the ball you can see he has speed and quickness that most RB's don't. Barlow seems to have a similar skill set to Houston, who's obviously going to be cheaper to keep around. Perhaps Mangini just wanted to "give him another chance" after his good game in NE but he's really shown nothing the last couple weeks.
I think this is exactly it. We have 5 more games to see what's with the dismal running attack. I can picture Mangini's mind already looking to next year. This is a huge gotta fix, high-priority area. Huge. Clemens, if he's the man next year, will need a good strong running game to help him get off to a good rookie start. He'll need good pass-protection and good run-blocking. We've got several of the ingredients, we just have to shop for a few more. With the cold weather setting in (and more of an insistance on running the ball) it's the perfect time to evaluate. In Mangini's mind: 1) Barlow is history. 2) Washington is a keeper. 3) We've got to look at Houston real hard and make some decisions on him.
I'm not surprised by the move. I don't think anyone is saying "Houston is so much better than Barlow". Although, It does look like H has some pep in his run and Bar looks lethargic and falls down at the touch. Houston is younger and cheaper (and better - in my unprofessional opinion), so give him a shot. Could it be: the problem is with Running Blocking and not the Running Back? If so, I think the guards are the problem. We need a monster mauler.
Nebraska has a runningback class of players. Good runningbacks that aren't getting the yards on the statistics because they are sharing time all the time. Which is good for them in that they aren't tenderized meat when they go pro. (Carriker's there too.) But, I kind of liked the old Jets rotation of using runningbacks until one (or two) start getting some yards and then going with them more. Cedric is probably the best all around. But, I don't think he is good enough to not use the others.
There's a kid coming out of Penn State that I wouldn't mind having. Full Name: Tony Hunt Born: November 24, 1985 Hometown: San Antonio, TX Height: 6-2 Weight: 230 lbs. Rushing Stats YEAR TEAM ATT YDS AVG LNG TD FD FUM LOST 2003 PSU 34 110 3.2 16 1 0 0 0 2004 PSU 169 777 4.6 77 7 0 0 0 2005 PSU 174 1047 6.0 70 6 0 0 0 2006 PSU 246 1228 5.0 41 11 0 0 0
well, we needed to make a hard decision and we have....stick with these 2, which i like and have optimism for, and see how we go. Get them both 10+ carries a game, maybe more and see how it goes....
Great move! This will allow us to establish a consistent run game. I have nothing against Barlow and I am sure we'll see him at the goal line a couple of times but the coaching staff realize that this running back carrousel will not work if we get to the playoffs.
Without Barlow playing like he did, the Jets would not of beaten the Patriots. He has basically been benched since then for Houston. I don't know why. Could be incentives like I saw earlier in the thread. Maybe Mangini and him don't get along or something. But the last time Barlow was given a good chance to succeed, he came through big time.
I love the move, but I also love Barlow and how he has become so involved on the sideline. Barlow gets really into it, he loves this team. I hope this dosn't hurt that.
I agree with what you said about the Pats game. But have you watched Barlow this season? Not only is he slow as hell, cant hit the hole in time, and he can not cut. With that being said I love Barlow and his work ethic, since getting here he's worked hard and played hard. Mangini loves his work ethic, and Barlow has gone on the record saying Mangini is the best coach he has played for. This is strickly a move that had to be made, Cedric Houston is a rock and deserves to see more of the field.
i like barlow as a short yardage/goal line back...and like other have said, with him, we don't win that pats game....ps what do you think blaylock is doing?
I have an issue with the way the coaching staff has been utilizing the RBBC. Mangini and Schotty haven't really given any 1 guy a chance to get in a rhythym since Houstons return. Let a guy get a whole series rather than substituting play by play. I hate to see a guy break off a solid 6-8 yd run then run 15-20 yards to the sideline. Let's ride the hot hand a little more. In the last game our substitution pattern at the RB position felt awkward. It also seems like a giveaway to the D what kind of rush could be expected based on which guy is in there.
And Barlow's 8 carries for 5 yards were even more impressive. Face it, barlow is trash. He has had ONE good game ALL year. Leon is our speed back and deserves atleast half the carries. The rest go to a power back, and Houston is the better power back than Barlow. Houston hits the whole with acceleration. Barlow is slow as anything, doesn't hit the whole hard, and can't make cuts at all. This gives Leon more of a chance to excel like he did earlier in the season where he rushed for 100+ yds and averaged over 5ypc. Adding 3 backs has limited his carries when he deserves more. Even last week, with only 5 carries, he still lead the team in rushing.
I couldn't agree more. Maybe now Houston can get into a rythm and then alternate with Washington. When you think about it, this is almost the exact opposite of what Herm was doing with Martin... run Martin, Martin, Martin. Sheesh... take 4 years off his career, why don't you, not to mention the opposition knew what was coming.
