I'm not saying he'll turn into a better player than he is. I'm saying he's a great player well suited to our system who has had success in that system. How is he suddenly NOT a good player? Are you basing that on his conditioning? EDIT: Unless you're saying "someone else turning into a better player than LEON is". Again, they're different players and yes, I think McKnight could well be a better runner if he bulks up a bit.
I meant turning into a better player than Leon is because Leon is the guy we had in that spot, signed for this year, so Leon sets the bar. So if you make the move you better improve that spot or it's a bad move. There might not even be football in 2011 and we got a lower pick for Leon than we used to get him, which to me is hard to believe. So the argument that he was gone after this year anyway to me doesn't fly because this year is the only one that matters right now and we didn't get much for him as it is. And to boot, the guy we traded with who preferred Leon was McKnight's own college coach. All of that proves nothing except it gives me the bad feeling I mentioned earlier.
McKnight was taken before Leon was traded, so it's impossible to say who Carroll preferred. He was reportedly interested in taking McKnight in the 5th, and may have felt confident that he would fall that far. With so many RBs already in the fold, is it surprising that Carroll would want to wait until the 5th to draft one? As far as keeping Leon for one more year if he was set to leave anyway, the CS has made it clear that Greene and LT will receive the bulk of the carries this season. How much impact are you expecting Leon/McKnight to have? Why not secure the future of the position if there will be limited carries this season anyway?
If that's how it works out than we did the right thing, Tannenbaum's track record is pretty good so I'm hanging my hat on that. The draft and Seattle stuff I'll take your word for, I just found it an odd coincidence that Carroll of all people needed a RB and traded for Leon while we got McKnight. I just don't know if we've secured anything if McKnight can't catch the ball out of the backfield, that's my main concern. The throwing up part is unusual but that can be any number of things, I guess my worry is replacing guy who can catch the ball and take it to the house with a guy who maybe can't catch the ball and have drives end on 3rd down with 20 yards of open field in front of him because of it. To answer your other question, that's what I expect out of that 3rd RB spot, to be a 3rd down guy who can catch the screen and make up the yardage on the ground to keep a drive going, but you have to catch the ball.
Why don't we wait until TC to say that McKnight can't catch the ball out of the backfield? FWIW, he had more receptions in his final two years at USC than Leon had in his final two at FSU. You're still missing the point that I think McKnight should develop into more than just a 3rd down guy. I see him as a true compliment to Greene, in terms of carries think Jacobs/Ward in 08 for the Giants. The FO never seemed to see Leon as that guy, even though we all thought he could be. In fact, when his carries increased last season before his injury, his production dropped. Even though I have a tough time believing it, he very well may not have been able to be that true #2 in our RBBC. Still, he was explosive as hell before he got hurt. I loved the guy, dropped cash on an authentic jersey that is now hanging in my closet. It sucks to see him go, but I really do believe it's for the best at this point.
I'm willing to wait until the season unfolds, let alone camp. Again hopefully McKnight works out the way they want him to, that would be the best thing because LT isn't a long term answer. Regarding Leon, I thought he should have had a crack at the #1 job before we got Thomas Jones but they never gave it to him. Lack of carries wasn't his fault and I don't think a broken leg is going to end his career. So to me it's about what Leon does from this point forward vs what McKnight does, we'll see. Obviously I want it to work out for us, I'm just not feeling it yet. I've been wrong before, not often but it happens. :grin:
