Are You Drinking the Kool-Aid?

I'm very excited about his emergence. As many people noted, he is quick, hits the holes hard and is elusive. He needs to keep getting the ball.

TBTF

 

Sure, the forget A Peterson threads are silly, no arguement there, but I also won't rule out tyhe possibilty of LW being a potential feature RB too. He didn't hold up to that role in college, so it's reasonable to have some doubts, which I do.

Having said that, I surely won't rule out the chance that he could be a Dunn/Barber type either. My guess is more like a Bruce Harper type, but that aint shabby either. We'll have a bunch more games to watch him and massage our opinions though....

 

Of course he's not a franchise back. You would be a complete idiot if you dubbed him that already, after two good games. But, to give credit where credit is due, Leon did VERY well in these last two games and looks like a future solid player in this league. He is not only fast, but is an extremely strong and powerful runner for his size.

 

Produce like Edge against the Bears...I think he can do that?

 

anybody with 2 legs and an arm could do that

 

I hate it when people say drinking the kool aid it makes me want to stab someone in the neck with my pen...

 

Okay, I've been on the "forget about Leon" bandwagon all year. I've also been on the same bandwagon with Houston. Neither has shown me enough yet to proclaim either the "answer."

That said, Leon has looked good the past few weeks. He has shown improvement each week. But so has Barlow. And Houston is sitting on the shelf. Who knows how Ced comes back? He's a toss up at this point.

Something no has mentioned in this thread, and I think it is critical is the improving play of the OLine. This unit is gelling very well. Shotty is also like night and day to our previous two OCs. Add that to the much better play of Chad than the past couple years (in all fairness, last year really doesn't count though,) and the great play by our WRs to force Ds to respect our ability to generate yards in the air, and it's a pretty good formula for success in our running game.

So really, there are a number of factors that tell why someone like Leon is having success right now. I somewhat agree that Leon needs to perform against teams of the caliber of Chicago and NE before we proclaim him the answer. Sure, Miami and Detroit have run Ds that are respectable, but it's a much different story when you play a team with a complete defense.

I'm impressed with Leon, and while Barlow has earned a spot in the O scheme, I think Leon has earned the right to be the starter. If we had a quality FB I think it would be a lot better for any of our RBs. Askew is not a quality FB. I'm not ready to see us give up on a draftee marquee back yet. It's wait-and-see mode for me right now. Obviously I would love to keep Leon if he can be the feature back, and pursue things like a true 3-4 NT in the draft.

 

I agree that its much too soon to name him the heir to the running game. BUT, those numbers are pretty good. Yards per carry are excellent in each game. There is nothing to complain about. To say, they didnt lead to points is nonsense. Im not sure how you say that has anything to do with him?

 

he's the same size as warric dunn and has the same explosiveness as dunn he hardly carried the ball the frist 3 games go look at whats hes done the past 4 games why not have hope hes the real deal hes alot like parker from pittsburgh and i think wed take him or a dunn in aheart beat.so give him a chance i for one who have been watching the jets for 28 years thinks he has the good get a little stronger in th eupper body whcih will come and he has the chance ot be a very good back as long as their is a cedric houston bralow bigger back like in atlanta

 

I'm not drinking the Leon Kool-Aid, I'm drinking the RBBC Kool-Aid. Leon is showing that he is a good back. He gets 20 carries for 120, Barlow gets 11 carries for nearly 50. That is a great day by 2 RB's. Keep Washington's carries between 15-25, give Barlow the smashmouth carries and I see no need to draft a running back anytime soon.

 

Some people are jumping the gun, but now people are excited after expecting him to be, at best, a 3rd down back. And having "a good rookie with solid upside" leads to the assumptions that RB isnt a glaring need. People talk about drafting 1st RD RB's and thats the least of our worries with glaring needs at OG/RT and DE/NT/OLB.

I agree, it was garbage time and he wouldnt have done nearly as well had Stroud been in. But, at the same time, the D was playing to keep a Shutout victory. That means ALOT to a defender. So its not like the D was just letting Washington waltz around for fluff stats.

I see your point, but I've been on the "Leon Kool-Aid" since it was Garnet and Gold. I've always liked his big play ability, ability to read defenses, his burst through the line, and the fact he runs as powerful as a "prototype RB". While I understand your point, I think most of these peoples points are, he's the only person able to generate consistent yards on the ground from our poor Run Blocking. So people need to quit wondering where our next big RB is when he could be right under our nose if we address the OL.

Now I'm not saying we shouldnt address RB. but its probably 4th or 5th on our list of immediate need. And I'm sure older fans are salivating since we havent had a big play threat in a while. (and Leon is showing consistency when given the oppertunity, and watching him play at FSU he is someone who can carry a load, but has always split time)

 

hes the 28th ranked rusher wiht 346 yards with 71 carries there are 19 runners wiht over a 100 carries ahead of him if you give him 100 carries at 4.9 yards a rush hes averging he.d be in the top 10 rushers this year so i'd say he has the potential to be our starting rb for as long as he stays healthy.

 

Funny how that kind of obscure reference has stood up over so many years. I wonder if a lot of the younger people even know what it's a reference to anymore.

On topic, I'm glad Washington has emerged as a good back. How he ends up being used remains to be seen, but when was the last time we took the ball having to get a first down to run out the clock and did it so easily?

 

He needs to do it against the Bears? The best D in the league for it to mean something?

LOL

 

Im drinking the Kool-aid for the season. I will definitely keep an eye on him to see how he develops. c'mon, buy a pack of Neon Leon Koolaid! :breakdance:

 

yeah - I'm drinking the coolaide, and I'm not the usual coolaide drinker...

...I really like what I see from this guy. Like the announcers' said, his ability to stop and start on a dime reminded them of Barry Sanders. And yet, unlike Sanders, he doesn't seem to go backwards to go forward - he's willing to quickly hit the hole first and then juke into the holes and move to the open space.

I'm impressed so far and looking forward to more from Neon Leon!

 

The speed of LW is simply amazing. Something the Jets haven't seen in decades. Like GG said, the kid has the ability to start and stop on a dime, bounce outside like Barry Sanders and accelerate like a WR.

I'm seeing Martin's tutelage more and more in Washington's running style. Can you imagine Martin's career numbers if he had Washington's speed?

Yeah, I'm on the Neon Leon BW. Count me in!!

 

Washington makes yards through holes that open and close in split-seconds. The only other Jet RB I've seen do that recently is Curtis, and Curtis didn't have the speed to turn every hole into 28 yards the way Washington does.

I'm holding my breath that his size doesn't become a durability issue, but right now he just looks good.