Which horse do you put out to pasture?

[BillBelichickFan79]

:rocker:

Remember his first couple of years, and he kept fumbling? Everybody wanted him gone, and now we wont let him retire.

It's close between TB12 and Faulk, but I think Faulk is my favorite Patriot. I absolutely love the guy. I will be very sad when he hangs up the cleats.

 

[patsfan-1982]

Sammy ( can't get one yerd) Morris. is old and should be cut


fred taylor, was pretty much takeing some ones roster spot that could have helped the team


kevin faulk, will be a none factor like he was this year but if he wants to come back why not.


law firm. is a ST player and maybe a FB.


maroney, is the best back on the team. and if he would get 20 att a game he would have a 1000 yerd season.


keep marony and draft a power back.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

you didn't mention lawfirm? I don't have a problem with a committee format if it keeps players fresh at year end.
Keep - LoMo, Faulk, Lawfirm.
Drop either of Morris or Taylor.
Bring in a younger power back / full back. To many times the Pats struggled giving the ball to the lead back in a short yardage situation.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

It's close between TB12 and Faulk, but I think Faulk is my favorite Patriot. I absolutely love the guy. I will be very sad when he hangs up the cleats.

Agreed, he gets those tough yards.

 

[oldskool138]

Cigar.

Okay, what do I win?

 

[bucky]

This is what I want in the offseason (doubt it will happen).

Morris-Gone
Taylor-Gone
Maroney-Gone

Draft a power back: Toby Gerhart, Johnathan Dwyer, etc.

Depth Chart example:

1. Toby Gerhart (main back)
2. BJGE (5-8 carries, change of pace back)
3. Kevin Faulk (same role he's always had)

No more committee, I want a back I can count on to run 20 times a game.

I mostly agree with this, but with a couple of changes -

Morris is a very versatile guy, good on ST, great backup at all positions. And he doesn't cost much - why in the world would you want to get rid of him?

If someone will give up a 3rd or 4th for Maroney, I'd do it. But I wouldn't just drop him. He's making near minimum salary this year.

The best feature back in this year's draft is probably Ryan Mathews and he might not last to 42.

 

[oldskool138]

Maroney's not going anywhere until the end of next season. He'll ride out the rest of his rookie contract and probably won't be signed by another NFL team...and then we'll never speak of him again.

Anything the Pats can get out of him in the 2010 season is gravy at this point. Granted, it's gravy on a turd sandwich but it is something...

 

[Ring 6]

This is what I want in the offseason (doubt it will happen).

Morris-Gone
Taylor-Gone
Maroney-Gone

Draft a power back: Toby Gerhart, Johnathan Dwyer, etc.

Depth Chart example:

1. Toby Gerhart (main back)
2. BJGE (5-8 carries, change of pace back)
3. Kevin Faulk (same role he's always had)

No more committee, I want a back I can count on to run 20 times a game.

Did you read the OP? RBs get injured.
Just because we only won our division and lost in the first round doesnt mean everything we do is wrong.

 

[Warren94]

was hoping Taylor would help Maroney, but I think it all starts on the o-line. we need to repair the right side of the offensive line.

 

[dhamz]

Is the "I don't want a committe, I want to see 1 feature back" a fantasy football thing? Almost no one does it that way anymore. Every down backs are pretty rare. Almost all the best running teams in the league used multiple backs.

Top 10 rushing teams:
Jets - Jones/Green/Washignton
Ten - Johnson
Car - Williams/Stewart
Mia - Brown/Williams
Balt - Rice/Mcgahee
Saints - Thomas/Bush/Bell
Dallas - Barber/Jones/Choice
Cle - Harrison/Lewis
Cincy - Benson
Jax - MJD

Certainly if you have a special player like a Chris Johnson or an Adrian Petersen you don't want to see a committee approach but there isn't one of those guys on the roster and isn't likely to be one in 2010. The committee approach itself isn't the problem. I certainly wouldn't be opposed to some upgrades of the members of the committee.

I'd also like to see some better blocking and play calling in the running game.

 

[ScrewDrvr]

Fred will play this season in NE.

The reason he was kept on IR was because BB knows how valuable he still is.

 

[37Harrison]

I have to disagree with everyone who wants Taylor gone. I think he is a better back than Maroney and I for one am done with the Maroney "experiment." He has had enough time in this system to show that he should be the Pats #1 back and has failed miserably. He fumbles too often at crucial times and to injury prone.

Taylor (with the limited time he played) showed that he still has some tred on those tires. Yes, he was hurt too this past year and I think his early reputation of being "Fragile Fred" is misleading. The past few years he has been basically injury free. I live in Jax and have seen how he can change games, something we have never seen from Maroney.

Faulk will be on the team and I think it is time to let Sammy go. BJGE should be relegated to ST's only unless the score is out of control where he can get playing time as the "goal line" guy.

Keep: Taylor, Faulk
Release: Maroney & Morris
Draft: A true "feature" running back and get rid of the RB by committee approach. Use Taylor and Faulk as your 3rd down/spell the starter guys.

 

[JackBauer]

Where is this Maroney is injury prone myth coming from?

He isn't going anywhere. Sorry.

 

[Tunescribe]

I think we'll need all of them considering what happened this past season. With the abuse they take, halfback-by-committee is the way to go these days. I think Taylor, Faulk and Morris have enough tread left for one more season. Maroney still is young, I'd give him another year to finally "get it."

 

[oldskool138]

Where is this Maroney is injury prone myth coming from?

Umm, it's not a myth. It's a fact. Sure, he wasn't hurt this past season but almost in all of his other seasons he's missed significant time due to injury.

 

[JackBauer]

Umm, it's not a myth. It's a fact. Sure, he wasn't hurt this past season but almost in all of his other seasons he's missed significant time due to injury.

Umm, totally meaningless unless you're comparing him to other running banks. It's not exactly a position that lends itself to durability.

Regardless, complaining about Maroney's durability while simultaneously singing the praises of Taylor and Morris is about as dumb as it gets. Which around here is really saying something.

 

[mgteich]

If our running backs are healthy, there are going nowhere. There is always room for another running back, either a multi-purpose back like Spiller or a short-yardage back. But if we are looking at 2010, there is little reason to fire one of our four options. Folks say that they are old. Three are old, two are young. So what! But we do NOT need all of them to perform well.

My bottom line is that Maroney, Taylor and Faulk are fine. However, I would welcome upgrades over Morris and Green-Ellis.

MARONEY
Maroney is going nowhere. That is the reality of running a business in the nfl. He is inexpensive and is a reasonable back. Personally, I think he is as good as Addai. He gains plently of yards per carry if he is given the ball 20 times. Maroney is in the last year of his rookie contract and will finish the year.

TAYLOR
He was signed for two years. He performed fine when he played. He was injured. I see no reason to cut him now.

MORRIS
He is the most likely of the four to go. He doesn't seem to be physically able to be the blocking back and short yardage runner. When he's healthy, he is an asset. If we can find better, Morris will be gone, but his salary is only $900K.

FAULK
He will re-sign and continue to play a significant role in our offense.

BEN-ELLIS
I don't know why he is here except as an emergency back. However, I understand the team using a roster spot for such a position. I would prefere a running back with more of a role for this roster spot: a returner, a short-yardage back, or a fullback.

 

[tanked_as_usual]

If our running backs are healthy, there are going nowhere. There is always room for another running back, either a multi-purpose back like Spiller or a short-yardage back. But if we are looking at 2010, there is little reason to fire one of our four options. Folks say that they are old. Three are old, two are young. So what! But we do NOT need all of them to perform well.

My bottom line is that Maroney, Taylor and Faulk are fine. However, I would welcome upgrades over Morris and Green-Ellis.

MARONEY
Maroney is going nowhere. That is the reality of running a business in the nfl. He is inexpensive and is a reasonable back. Personally, I think he is as good as Addai. He gains plently of yards per carry if he is given the ball 20 times. Maroney is in the last year of his rookie contract and will finish the year.

TAYLOR
He was signed for two years. He performed fine when he played. He was injured. I see no reason to cut him now.

MORRIS
He is the most likely of the four to go. He doesn't seem to be physically able to be the blocking back and short yardage runner. When he's healthy, he is an asset. If we can find better, Morris will be gone, but his salary is only $900K.

FAULK
He will re-sign and continue to play a significant role in our offense.

BEN-ELLIS
I don't know why he is here except as an emergency back. However, I understand the team using a roster spot for such a position. I would prefere a running back with more of a role for this roster spot: a returner, a short-yardage back, or a fullback.

the pats need another RB like faulk....the guy is 34 and could become ineffective overnight

 

[The Dynasty]

Is the "I don't want a committe, I want to see 1 feature back" a fantasy football thing? Almost no one does it that way anymore. Every down backs are pretty rare. Almost all the best running teams in the league used multiple backs.

Top 10 rushing teams:
Jets - Jones/Green/Washignton
Ten - Johnson
Car - Williams/Stewart
Mia - Brown/Williams
Balt - Rice/Mcgahee
Saints - Thomas/Bush/Bell
Dallas - Barber/Jones/Choice
Cle - Harrison/Lewis
Cincy - Benson
Jax - MJD

Certainly if you have a special player like a Chris Johnson or an Adrian Petersen you don't want to see a committee approach but there isn't one of those guys on the roster and isn't likely to be one in 2010. The committee approach itself isn't the problem. I certainly wouldn't be opposed to some upgrades of the members of the committee.

I'd also like to see some better blocking and play calling in the running game.

The thing is it isnt like those players split the carries 50/50, what myself and other posters are saying is having a feature back get 10-15 carries and then a short yardage/change up back get 5-10. The RB my committee where 3 or 4 backs get 5 carries a game just isnt working. The Patriots will never be a dominate running team, they just need 2 guys + Faulk to get the job done.

 

[patsfan-1982]

The thing is it isnt like those players split the carries 50/50, what myself and other posters are saying is having a feature back get 10-15 carries and then a short yardage/change up back get 5-10. The RB my committee where 3 or 4 backs get 5 carries a game just isnt working. The Patriots will never be a dominate running team, they just need 2 guys + Faulk to get the job done.

i agree there is no reason to have 4 RB's when the pats only get 20 to 25 att per game.