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- Sep 13, 2004
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Whoa, part of Maroney's difficulty was teams stacking the box when he was in the game because he wasn't going to be a receiver. Green-Ellis worked hard to move beyond that, I want whomever NE drafts/signs to be prepared to catch the ball.
If your RB doesn't catch well, it gives Brady one less viable target and the defense has one less guy to spend significant coverage resources on....for me, in order for a new RB to be an upgrade, he's going to need to have not only the second-cut/second-gear that BGE apparently lacks, he's also going to need to be a legitimate pass-catching threat.
Agree with you both. I've been thinking more about the "in order for a new RB to be an upgrade" criteria, and I made a little spreadsheet to help me think. I didn't bother coding the core on-field running attributes like vision and balance, which I leave to the eye of the beholder. I just wanted to narrow down to the field of players who pass a basic screen:
- Have a better burst/speed than BJGE
- Have more bulk/power than Woodhead
- Are legitimate options to catch the ball
- Show effort and decent effectiveness in pass protection
- Don't have major ball-security issues
Below are the RBs left standing, with some notes. S=Speed/Explosion, B=Bulk/Power, P=Passing Game Contributions. Black type indicates a notable strength, red a borderline area. I = Significant Injury Concerns.
Leshoure, M (B)
Williams, R (I)
Murray, D (P, S, B)
Vereen, S (P)
Green, A (I)
Carter, D (B)
Harper, J (P)
Scott, D (I)
Allen, A (B)