Which running back could be the odd man out?

[Ring 6]

I think our RB position is exactly the same as last year, with BJGE being on the bubble as one of the last to make it or to be cut.
We may add a FB, but I think Maroney, Taylor, Faulk and Morris are all here.

 

[tanked_as_usual]

I think our RB position is exactly the same as last year, with BJGE being on the bubble as one of the last to make it or to be cut.
We may add a FB, but I think Maroney, Taylor, Faulk and Morris are all here.

yeah...they are all here right now......that's easy to say

 

[patriotscpfc]

Get rid of Taylor. He couldn't even stay healthy this year with about 30% carries.

Maroney, Faulk, Rookie, BJGE, Morris. I'd consider cutting Morris for a Full Back as well.

Maroney has without doubt improved from 06, 07, 08. He ran hard and fumbled more. Work on that this off-season and he'll be a decent back for the offense. He looked much better pushing the pile and on the Goalline.

Remember at times in 07, he was barely used as he couldn't be used out of the Shotgun. Last year he was much better at it.

He's probably still our most talented back. Maroney and the Rookie could carry much of the slate. Faulk is the 3rd down guy. Green-Ellis is the backup inactive and Special-teamer. And then we have Morris/Full Back.

I miss the days of 07 where we had Evans, Seau, Vrabel, K.Brady and an extra O-Lineman in. We need to get some of our Defensive players catching. Maybe AD can do that

 

[Ring 6]

yeah...they are all here right now......that's easy to say

May be easy to say but a lot of people seem to think otherwise.

 

[tanked_as_usual]

May be easy to say but a lot of people seem to think otherwise.

basically 2009 results with everyone a year older........they are a year away from having all of them be gone.......the need to replace 1 or 2 bodies now.......

that said, the most important position is faulk's heir apparent.......they need someone who can train to do what he does..........the others are basically '3 yards and a cloud of dust' guys........being fully integrated into the passing game is a little more prep

 

[Ring 6]

basically 2009 results with everyone a year older........they are a year away from having all of them be gone.......the need to replace 1 or 2 bodies now.......

that said, the most important position is faulk's heir apparent.......they need someone who can train to do what he does..........the others are basically '3 yards and a cloud of dust' guys........being fully integrated into the passing game is a little more prep

They were all injured in 2009. A year older is not as important as being healthy. None of the injuries were age induced.
I think we are fine for 2010 and RB is a position you can rebuild easily in an offseason, so planning for the future isn't as critical.

 

[crowell33]

I honestly don't want Maroney either. But trading him presents a problem.

Morris and Taylor won't start, too old and too much mileage. Do you trust a rookie to be the starter from day one?

A risky RB core, but a fresh start could be:

1. Rookie
2. BJGE
3. Faulk (3rd down back)

Two young guys and reliable Faulk. If Maroney can get a 3rd, I'd trade him.

Agreed. I don't want Maroney on the roster either. I'll take, Rookie, Taylor, Faulk, Morris, and BJGE.

 

[supafly]

There will be a lot of different opinions here, it'll be interesting to see what the coaching staff thinks.

As far as drafting goes, it could be a bigger bruiser type like Gerhart who should be able to block well, pickup the blitz effectively, and help in short yardage situations. This could possibly increase the chances of Morris leaving. Or it could be a shiftier, speedier back who can catch out of the backfield too, maybe McCluster--possibly groomed for eventual replacement of Faulk.

Will it be early on? Or later as a mid-round pick a la Ben Tate? I thought Rashard Jennings provided some late round talent last year, but was obviously alone in that thinking--he eventually went to Jax in the 7th rd.

I'm not totally sold on BB 'giving up' on Maroney, as some think. We all know he has put in some good effort with LoMo in film study, etc. It could be possible that the benching was to send a message in a strong way. If I had to guess, I'd say that Maroney stays, Faulk stays obviously, BJGE stays for backup purposes and ST presence, and one of Morris/Taylor is cut and replaced by a rookie.

 

[spacecrime]

Agreed. I don't want Maroney on the roster either. I'll take, Rookie, Taylor, Faulk, Morris, and BJGE.

If you don't want Maroney, why would you want Morris? Morris is hurt more and doesn't run nearly as well. His ypc is inflated by long runs on draw plays and he STILL doesn't have a decent average.

 

[Big Bucks]

Trade Maroney in a contract year!

Yeah OK

Maroney and Faulk are the only ones worth coming back.

Maroney did OK last year, his best year.. hopefully we can improve the OL blocking to make better lanes for alll the RBs, getting rid of Baker and Watson and bringing in Crumpler would start that trend to a better running game

I also wish we woud pass to Maroney more

last year

14 catches 99 yards Avg 7 yards Targeted 17 times 82% completion

 

[emoney_33]

I'm not totally sold on BB 'giving up' on Maroney, as some think.

Not "totally sold" is an interesting way to put it. Anyone who thinks Maroney is even close to the chopping block simply has not followed the Patriots well. The only way Maroney is possibly not here next year is if a team offers a trade they can't refuse.

Maroney and Faulk are locks.

 

[Big Bucks]

Actually Id take a look at Huggys boy Fargas and see what his body is like. A better option than Taylor and Morris IMO

 

[Snake Eyes]

I wish we'd get a real fullback, Peyton Hillis, and lose one of our RBs.

 

[supafly]

Not "totally sold" is an interesting way to put it. Anyone who thinks Maroney is even close to the chopping block simply has not followed the Patriots well. The only way Maroney is possibly not here next year is if a team offers a trade they can't refuse.

Maroney and Faulk are locks.

Yes, I'd certainly agree with this statement. I think there are several reasons why he'll stay. One, he has great value still money wise. Two, I think Belichick has put forth some extra added effort, as we've heard about their weekly film reviews, etc. The coach obviously feels that there is good talent there, and feels Maroney's mistakes are correctable, IMO. Three, he did improve in his north-south running last year, and hit the hole with more decisiveness. Lastly, I still believe he's the premier back on this RB roster, at least as of right now.

As a 9th ranked rushing unit last year, I believe the committee by approach theory works just fine. That's back to back years now with pretty damn good results. I do think they need to improve on blitz pickups/pass protection, and it would be nice to see the unit 'take over games' again with some clock killing down the stretch. I think we'll need to focus on these areas particularly with the loss of Welker, and if a good rookie RB is available then I'm all for it. Again, if I had to guess it'd be between Morris/Taylor who will be replaced.

 

[Patjew]

I think Morris is gone.

 

[ausbacker]

It pisses me off the people that subscribe to the year older garbage. Whilst you might be a year older, you'll always have what the rookies don't... experience.

Age is no measure of performance in my book. If you're playing well you're playing well.

 

[Patjew]

It pisses me off the people that subscribe to the year older garbage. Whilst you might be a year older, you'll always have what the rookies don't... experience.

Age is no measure of performance in my book. If you're playing well you're playing well.

Ah, so you're one of those guys that gets a year better, not a year older.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I get a year fatter and drunker.

 

[Kontradiction]

It pisses me off the people that subscribe to the year older garbage. Whilst you might be a year older, you'll always have what the rookies don't... experience.

Age is no measure of performance in my book. If you're playing well you're playing well.

So basically a player needs to meet in the middle with a Touch of Grey?

 

[WelshPat]

Don't get the Morris hate at all, he's a great comitiee guy to have and he's pretty consistant. How anyone could pick Fred Taylor right now over Morris honestly baffles me.