muzz

They say Rashard Mendenhall is a slug, waste of a draft pick...
Anyone watch that pitt/SD game last week?

Anyone see the CREASES that he went through?
Anyone see the creases that really weren't there to our eye, yet he slammed through that CRACK?

I sure did, and I was impressed with how DECISIVE he was, and considering he is basically a rook(last year he was hurt basically all year), with very little touches, he was outstanding.

I would LOVE to have a back that said to himself " There is the smallest crease, it's NOT there YET, but it WILL be by the time I get there".

I was impressed, he smacked them hard, and sometimes I was wondering what he was seeing, cuz they were NOT big holes, sometimes I saw NOTHING, yet he slithered and made a decent gain.....

Mendenhall may end up being a bum, but he sure impressed me last week.

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I guess drafting BUMS like "I never play cuz I suck" Wheatley,"see the back of my Jersey as I get burned...AGAIN" Wilhiite, and "maybe my knee will let me play by my 4th year" Tate, wasn't good enough,we've got a guy that is giving Matt Millen a run for his $ by drafting a mediocre special teams player and giving him 1st Rd. cake.
Pass rush? Uneccessary when you have 72 CBS playing.
Lbs? What for, we have no pass rush, they gonna chuck it at our lousy CBS...all 72 of them bums

maverick4

You make it sounds like a lead blocker is the only thing stopping Maroney from being good.

Yet, in this very thread it shows how every other RB on the exact same team, with the exact same blockers, have significantly fewer % runs for losses than Maroney.

RayClay

There's a lot more for other runners

The Bettis Tomlinson comparison is interesting too in how similar most runs are, though they are different type runners.

Seems like successful runners have far more positive, but not outstanding runs than short or breakout ones. Might explain how consistent, mediocre runners can help a good team if used right (Antowain?).

I still think Sanders plied the middle of the field sometimes, even if he managed to avoid much contact. IMO, you simply can't run to the outside predictably in the NFL. They will chase you.

I'm going beyond the study saying 3 yd carries are up the middle, obviously.

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mayoclinic

I loved Mendenhall coming out of Illinois and thought the Steelers got a steal to snag him at #23 in the 2008 draft. Then he did nothing (and went on IR) his rookie year, Chris Johnson became an immediate sensation, and he got benched for not knowing the playbook.

Yes, he looked great on Monday night. SD doesn't have much of a rushing defense (or any kind of defense) at the moment, but he certainly looked like a bona fide NFL running back. As you say, decisive, hitting the holes hard. I'll be interested to see if he keeps it up.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

RayClay

I do believe plays are designed to open a crease, but if you wait to see it, it's on the way to being closed. How this relates to zone blocking, I have no idea.

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maverick4

Barry Sanders had many negative runs, but always a huge play which gave him a great overall ypc average. Now, a separate debate could be two RB's with the same ypc, but different variances, and debate who is better.

However, Maroney doesn't break big plays. He gets the negative runs that a Sanders got, without the huge runs.

mayoclinic

Some of that may be a question of running style (Morris and Taylor are more power runners used to ploughing throw a crowd to gain some yardage) and rustiness coming off of IR, but I have no difficulty agreeing that Maroney is not running very well right now. The question is how much is rustiness and lack of carries, how much is mental, how much is physical, and most of all, how much is permanent. Hard to tell without him getting some sustained work, preferably with a little better blocking.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

eagle eye

Well he has proven in the past how explosive he is when he gets to the second level. He had a lead blocker in his first two years here and averaged 4.5 yards per carry over those two seasons iirc.

Last season he was injured so lets forget it, after all most RBs have a bad injury years these days. That leaves us with this year and after four games we have a load of posters saying he is rubbish.
Really I don't get how you can make up your mind so quickly. And you have to also remember that he is still learning to run without a lead blocker.

And I still don't get why the Patriots don't have a FB on the roster when it was clearly successful having a lead blocker in 06 and 07.

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maverick4

It's getting harder and harder, to try to pin this on the blocking. Maroney is getting significantly different results from other RB's going in before or after him, especially in losing yards.

If we can agree in general for multiple reasons, that a RB who consistently gets 3.5 ypc is more valuable than another RB with a higher variance in runs... then Maroney shouldn't be our starting RB.

HarkDawg

well said