thecrazyeye

The Patriots have much more pressing needs than running back (CB, WR, OL and youth at LB) so it is more likely that they will go for a mid level RB that they can work with. If this is so, some of the names that might be available would be
Dontrelly Moore
Quinten Ganther
Wali Lundi
Gerald Riggs
Derrick Ross
D'Arrius Howard
Terrence Whitehead

Does anyone know enough about any of these players that would make them seem to be a good fit in our system? I really liked Dontrelle Moore, but i'm not sure how is awful 40 time is going to effect his status. Ganther was very strong and could be a sleeper, but I havent seen enough. Anyone have any insight?

dryheat44

Honestly, unless we're up in the 4.8 range, I could care less what a running back ran the 40 in. I'm more interested in how well he gets through the first 10. Moore had good times in the agility drills, which I like better as a barometer. I like his toughness too. He's my first pick.

I also like Lundy and Whitehead. Wasn't impressed with Ganther.

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Box_O_Rocks

What Heat said - straightaway speed isn't as critical as "burst" to get you through the hole before it closes and the ability to make a cut and get turned upfield. That addresses the legs and feet, vision to see the open lane is the third leg of the running tripod. After that you look at blocking and receiving; Kevin Faulk is valuable because of his ability to read and pick-up the blitz, even more-so than his receiving. The blocking is what hurts young backs.

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dryheat44

In fact, last year a draft site had the players times after 20 yards. I found this to be a pretty useful tool. I wish I remembered which one it was. It actually had a sortable feature, like Chick was recently asking about.

For example, last year RB Walter Reyes ran a scorching 40, something like a 4.42. But he did much better over the second half of that than the first. His first 20 was actually in the lower half of his group. So he had great acceleration once he got momentum. There's words for that, "kick" and "returner". In the backfield, he would have never made it through the hole and got the chance to use his speed. As a receiver, he would have needed the QB to hold on to the ball for too many seconds before he got open.

You would think I'd have that page bookmarked. So would I. Yet here we are. It was pointed out to me by someone in this forum, so maybe he/she knows?

__________________
When it's third and 10, you can have the milk drinkers and I'll take the whiskey drinkers every time. -- R.I.P. Max McGee

borisman

A RB to keep an eye on in the middle rounds is Andre Hall. He should turn out to be very good value. Tough runner, somewhat elusive yet powerful. Breaks tackles. He ran against 8 and 9 man fronts all the time. Their QB sucked so they stacked the line vs. USF. Don't know if he can catch cuz they didn't throw much and when they did it was mostly downfield. He's somewhat on the short side and he's probably not a feature back or someone who'll be a star.

Ochmed Jones

As far as running backs and BB goes, there is one thing that is a must if you want to get on the fileld, blocking/picking up the blitz.
BB seems to like bigger backs that can catch a little and pick of stants and the blitz.
I've had my eye on Bell of Arizona for a while. With a year in the weight program, he could be a solid 220-225 lb back with decent skills.

patchick

Bell has been on my board for a while as well, but by all accounts he had a perfectly lousy combine. The optimistic view could say that will make him available as a late-round steal. Not a world beater but a good, solid all-around power back with a balanced skill set. (I'm similarly hoping that DonTrell Moore's 40 time slides him to a Patriots day 2 pick. Love his power, vision, and attitude.)

patriotsrule

Here is stuff that Patriots.com had on running backs during the Combine that is pretty good.

http://www.patriots.com/search/index...=15552&pcid=41

http://www.patriots.com/search/index...=15562&pcid=41

drewdagreat

Leon Mothaf***in Washington.

Feep_FLA

If we wait till mid to late rounds to go RB I like Dontrelle Moore a lot. I would like Joseph Addai a lot more but he's a 2nd rounder for sure I believe. Don't be surprised if the address RB thru FA and pick a RB in like the 5-6 round area.