I think that one of the main reasons he isn't getting the bulk of the carries is that he is still struggling in pass protection picking up the blitz. He almost got Pennington and Mangold killed against the Vikings. Hopefully he can become a solid blocker but maybe this is where his size hurts him.
His size means nothing in pass blocking! Maurice-Jones Drew is 5'7" 212 and he's a better pass blocker than Fred Taylor who has been in the league for years, and is 6'1" 230! Pass blocking/picking up the blitz is a frame of mind. Leon just has to get used to picking up the blitz; Leon was one of the best at FSU, but now he just has to tailor his game for the big boys. It'll come.
Neon Leon rules. He's got more heart than New York's Pride and Joy Tiki Barber. Hope he gets an even bigger role next season.
There's a difference between getting 20 carries in two games and averaging 20 carries per game over the course of a season (or multiple years). Add in what Washington does/can do as a receiver/returner and its a lot to ask of a player, regardless of his size. White Shoes Willie also made a good point about the pass blocking issues.
There was a short segment I caught this morning on SNY, where they were interviewing Pete Kendall about Pennington's 64-yard "pass" to Washington (the shovel pass) and the run he made after the catch. They asked him if he had a good block that enabled the run by Washington. "We didn't block anyone," he said whimsically, "I turned around and he was gone."
I like Leon a lot, although personally I am against the "feature back" for the Jets, no matter who it is. I think teams need to have a few guys to keep defenses honest, and the more versatile those guys are the better. I would love to see Leon at TB with Askew at FB. I still think Askew could be a big bruising back on occasion, but apparently he hasnt shown the capability to the CS. I think more and more teams will be looking at what the Saints are doing this year, with Bush and Deuce, and trying to replicate it, and we have a Bush type player in Leon. Having so many options and such versatile players spread out all over the field makes it very difficult for defenses. I am very happy with Leon as a Jet, and I think the kid carries himself very well, works very hard, and will be very successful in some role for us for a while. The kid is a huge asset.
Id love to see askew on another team, and as the sig says, have BL on the team next year. FB is a key NEED position for this team. I really hope to see TB and EM draft big bad Brian Leonard.
I was sorry to see Jerold Sowell leave. I'd have kept him and dumped Askew. Be that as it may, I love Washington to death but he needs to alternate his scatting with a legit RB. I'm thinking a Brandon Jacobs clone would do it for me. What a combination that would be.
As a RU alum, I would love to see Leonard in green as well. I was really just using Askew as the big TB/ smaller FB model for a guy to put on the field with Leon as a compliment. I agree with splitting carries to some extent, but I really like what NO is doing with Bush and Deuce on the field at the same time, it really creates some mismatches.
I'm sure looking forward to the day his pass blocking comes together and we can keep him in fulltime. He is by far our best guy (in terms of running the ball, at least) and I would like to see him at least get a shot at getting 20-ish carries a game. Lets hope the CS sees the same way, for some reason they continue to give these 'power' backs the bulk of the carries.
A reporter recently asked OJ Simpson if he thought he might ever get married again and he replied: "Yeah, I might take another stab at it."
