And I owe him a huge apology. Just before the start of the season I posted a link to an article by Don Banks, or maybe Chris Burke, over on SI.com. Anyway, it ranked every teams RB corp, and it had our listed last. 32 of 32. And to my shame, I proceeded to totally agree with the ranking. I was very wrong about that. His numbers aren't overly impressive, although they don't suck either. They're very middle of the road, in fact, with 360 yards on 87 attempts, for a 3.8 average. gain, not exactly mind blowing. But I think he is better than these numbers imply, and I want Marty to start giving him the ball 20-25 times a game, or more. I think he could be a 3 down back for us. Also, the RB position was one I had tagged high in the upcoming draft, and if Powell can bring his game up just a little bit, then there are other needs that could be addressed. Anyway, I thought a little positive after that total letdown against the Steelers would be a good thing.
I completely agree. Powell certainly has proven that he's a lot better than a bottom of the pack RB. He's shown some promise thus far, and I think he definitely could remain a big part of our running game. Coming into this season I was actually very excited about our running game with the hopes of Powell stepping up, Ivory showing what he's got, as well as Goodson. I really thought Goodson was going to surprise all of us more than anticipated, but then of course since we're the Jets he gets suspended and then hurt. I definitely think our running game still has a lot of question marks, but at this point it could've been so much worse had Powell not been pretty decent for us thus far.
He needs to get the ball more. Whether on screens, flares out of the backfield, whatever. He needs the ball more.
Agreed I thought he was going to suck and we took him to light a fire under Greene's lazy ass. Turns out the kid is a very good all around back. He can block, catch the ball and make people miss. He reminds me a bit of Emerson Boozer before he got hurt. He also seems to be able to avoid the big head on hit which means he might actually be able to stay on the field.
Powell has been a surprise. But I must wonder if getting back Woodson and trying to get Ivory up and going messed him up a tad...
This would be the perfect week to do it. No Wilkfork or Mayo. Lot of injuries to their front 7. The question is, will MM stick with the run?
If we can get Powell 15-20 touches every game and Ivory 10-15 carries, that in my mind would be ideal. Powell has been a very pleasant surprise and I love how Ivory runs the ball, just wish we did it more.
Glad to see I'm not alone in liking this kid. In my opinion, this team hasn't had a decent RB since Curtis Martin, who is also my favorite football player of all time. For the record, Jow Willy is 1b to Martins 1a. I do hope Marty starts running the ball more often. And MarkyMark is so right about this being an excellent week to focus more on the run. In fact, a brutal running attack, along with a fierce pass rush, may be our only shot at beating the Patriots.
I couldn't agree more. If we could get the running game more established, it would open up the passing game for Geno as well. Particularly a few deep passes to Hill. I definately want to see Ivory more involved though. I had very high expectations when we got him, only to be disapointed with his lack of involvement in the preseason, and his minimal usage since. If we could get the two of them involved for 30-35 touches per game, it would definately help to keep defenses honest.
Powell looked like he'd taken a step forwards in training camp. Nice to see that carry through to the regular season. I don't think he's a 20-25 carry a game back but 15-20 is definitely in range.
This. I still feel like Ivory should get the bulk of the carries. He just needs to stay on the field.
Amazing what a semi-functional O-line can do for a runningback. :wink: The kid does look good though. A solid yet unspectacular player, who seems to see the holes better and runs harder this season. I'm glad he finally got his chance. Hopefully it continues.
I was one of the few who thought he could be a productive RB. My expectations for him was mostly as a good number 2 back. Now I think he can be a bellcow. He does everything you need. He can block, catch in the backfield and can get hand offs. He could be another Thomas Jones IMO.
He couldn't stay on the field. He was always shaking off minor dings and I think the organization thought he was dogging it.
