I loved having Southerland... I really thought he was going to be our FB of the future... but he got released and never signed with anyone again. He had a couple of operations on his foot before the draft and my opinion is he never recovered. Too bad, he'd have been one heck of a FB.
there is a certain chemistry that develops between fb and rb. knowing where to cut, who to block, which hole is the 'right' hole, etc etc. with greene being so young, this may be a good time to pair him with a young fb so they can develop as a tandem over the years.
It's also true that a young RB can also benefit from training a second year in a row with a guy that has the experience T-Rich has...
Yea, but there's that Davis guy and Caulcrick behind him and hopefully they're making some progress. If not, I say sign/draft Rashawn Jackson from Virginia...
Davis is here, but I think Caulcrick is elsewhere (signed off the PS.) I'd like to draft someone late, bring back T-Rich for one more year, and try to have him groom whatever backups are behind him.
The guy is a big time leader and still one of the best FB's in the league. He also is pretty cheap. Imo he is a no brainer to bring back
Yeah, Caulcrick is a 49er now. I think the Pats worked him out, too. TRich is still a very good blocker for his age, but we're going to need to get some new blood in at fullback eventually. I was hoping that Jehuu would be groomed by TRich, but fullbacks can be found. What I would like is a more versatile FB - that would make our offense much more dangerous. TRich may be a good blocker, but he hardly ever gets any carries or receptions, and when he does, the results are kind of mixed. A guy in the vein of Larry Centers or Richie Anderson would be a great outlet for Sanchez when he gets in trouble.
I think that as long as T-rich wants to play (at his current level) he should stick around. Its clear to anyone who watched those post game locker room scenes during the playoffs that T-rich is a very respected player in the locker room, and he is most definately a leader on the offensive side of the ball. He does the "And the Home of the Jets!" chant for crying out loud. He is more than welcome back until he wants to hang them up. TJ is the other vocal locker room leader that shows up in those videos, and he needs to stick around at least one more year, in a lesser role of course, but TJ needs to be back in order to help develop the young guys. Regardless of what you think of him, you don't gain 1,400 yards in the NFL when you are 31 by accident, yeah our OL is amazing, but TJ still has something in the tank, and he most definately has the ability to teach Shonn Greene a thing or two over the next year about work ethic, staying in shape, how to deal with an NFL offseason and how important it is to having a long career in the NFL.
Jason Davis is ok in the passing game... I just don't know if he's capable of blowing up people like T-Rich used to...
i'm in the camp that if T-Rich wants to play, we've got a spot for him. his contributions in the locker room and on the field are huge.
100% agree with you here. ------------- What a lot of people who say it's a no-brainer aren't looking at is that you can't just look at his intangibles to make these decisions. He's a locker room leader? Great. So was Mawae. So was Curtis Martin. So was Chad P. Sometimes you have to let go. While I think TRich is someone we should bring back next year, it really can't push farther out than that. We're talking about a grueling position. Plus, as abyzmul points out, we want versatility from the FB position as a dump option for a maturing Sanchez. He should have 2010 to mentor his replacement, then it's time to cut ties.
Bring him back, he's good for this team... We picked up Izzo last year and not so much for his ability on the field as his experience in the game.. That's what I think TR starts to transition into next season..
