ESPN: Glassy ranked No. 18 among RBs

[BadMoFo]

I'd argue that Faulk's value should be much higher than some of the guy's ranked ahead of him. Can't say I agree or disagree with Morris' ranking. While he did play great for us, I needed to see more.

18. Laurence Maroney, New England Patriots
Superpower -- Maroney has shown flashes of everything the Patriots hoped he would be with his combination of speed, power and explosiveness. He has all the tools to be a productive front-line runner in the NFL. He is a natural jump-cutter with the ability to turn a short gain into an explosive downfield play. Kryptonite -- Maroney has not been consistent and has struggled with durability issues. He lacks the bulk to run over defenders and the size to consistently match up in pass protection schemes. He's not a natural receiver out of the backfield.

50. Kevin Faulk, New England Patriots
Superpower -- He is a very instinctive player who gives the Patriots a lot of versatility and production as a backup. He is an undersized player who has very good quickness and body control in space. He has excellent hands as a receiver out of the backfield and continues to make defenders miss by using foot quickness, spin moves and his lateral cutting ability.
Kryptonite -- He is 32 years old and better as a rotation or change-of-pace player. While you love his versatility, you don't want him to have to carry the load. He lacks strength as an inside runner and does not break many tackles in traffic.

61. Sammy Morris, New England Patriots
Superpower -- Morris is coming off his most productive season in his eight-year career. He is a good combination of size, strength and athleticism. He runs with excellent body lean and power to break tackles inline. He has good vision and instincts in traffic. Morris is a solid pass-protector during blitz pickups and shows a good feel for the passing game. He wasn't involved as much in the Patriots' special teams units in 2007, but he was excellent in that phase of the game in previous seasons.
Kryptonite -- He has durability problems because he has had a hard time staying on the field for an entire season. He doesn't have great burst through the hole or the speed to turn the corner on perimeter plays. Morris doesn't have great elusive qualities to make defenders miss in space.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insi...espn.go.com/nfl/insider/news/story?id=3422768

 

[unoriginal]

(Maroney) lacks ... the size to consistently match up in pass protection schemes

Give a writer a deadline and words pop out.

 

[bradmahn]

Do you mind listing the names of the top 18 (even better would be the top 32)?

Consistency is in the eye of the beholder (Maroney was one of the best backs in terms of Success Rate last season, or gaining positive yardage on a per play basis) but all in all, I think those are fair assessments of each player, although I may say that Maroney's ability as a pass catcher is largely unknown considering that the few balls he has seen eek he's looked impressive. It may be more a matter of opportunity, as opposed to ability.

I'm also of the thinking that a full offseason with a healthy shoulder will improve his strength in pass pro and his ability to knock defenders out of his way; at 5-11, 220, I wouldn't say he lacks the size.

 

[aztecafut]

I agree. I think Faulks value to the Patriots is a lot higher than that. I know he is not a guy that can carry the whole work load but he does a lot more things for us than carry the ball. He is a pretty good blocker and we all know what excellent hands he has. When hes in the backfield it gives teams one more thing to worry about cause they know he can turn a two yard pass into a 15 to 20 yard gain easy. He is one of my favorite players because of that.

 

[BadMoFo]

Do you mind listing the names of the top 18 (even better would be the top 32)?

Consistency is in the eye of the beholder (Maroney was one of the best backs in terms of Success Rate last season, or gaining positive yardage on a per play basis) but all in all, I think those are fair assessments of each player, although I may say that Maroney's ability as a pass catcher is largely unknown considering that the few balls he has seen eek he's looked impressive. It may be more a matter of opportunity, as opposed to ability.

I'm also of the thinking that a full offseason with a healthy shoulder will improve his strength in pass pro and his ability to knock defenders out of his way; at 5-11, 220, I wouldn't say he lacks the size.

Actually, it's a free preview on Insider.

 

[WhoaDirty]

Quick and dirty:

1. LT
2. ADP
3. SJax
4. Westbrook
5. LJ
6. Addai
7. Gore
8. Barber
9. Portis
10. Lynch
11. Fragile Fred
12. McGahee
13. Fast Willie
14. MJD
15. Jamal Lewis
16. Michael Turner
17. Brandon Jacobs
18. Maroney
19. Ronnie Brown
20. Ryan Grant

Hmmmm ... that's all I can see out of the link. I think I'd rather have Westbrook on my team than LT, but that could be just me.

 

[BadMoFo]

Quick and dirty:

1. LT
2. ADP
3. SJax
4. Westbrook
5. LJ
6. Addai
7. Gore
8. Barber
9. Portis
10. Lynch
11. Fragile Fred
12. McGahee
13. Fast Willie
14. MJD
15. Jamal Lewis
16. Michael Turner
17. Brandon Jacobs
18. Maroney
19. Ronnie Brown
20. Ryan Grant

Hmmmm ... that's all I can see out of the link. I think I'd rather have Westbrook on my team than LT, but that could be just me.

I can actually see Maroney up to No. 15, more than that and it'd have to be quite a convincing argument. Marshawn seems too high, and I think this may be the last year we see Darth Vader in the top spot.

 

[bradmahn]

I don't have any idea how they can include rookies on this list and Turner at 16 seems a little... je ne sais pas. He was a great back up, but is a great back up better than a good starter?

If anything, I think this list really highlights the fluidity after the top five. There's a big drop off from five to six, in my opinion, and every RB after that has some question marks. Crazy talents at RB are rare, and obviously it depends on your system/preference, but after them, I don't think there are many that set themselves apart from the rest.

 

[Doonan24]

Marion Barber is overrated.

 

[bradmahn]

Marion Barber is overrated.

:agree:

He's fun to watch, but the way some people gush over him is pretty ridiculous.

 

[Crazyeechrispats1]

Barber is a man among boys thing is, Maroney is just starting to live up to his potential he is still the same age as most rookies.
Is going into training camp healthy, has been working on pass catching and blitz pickup.
I believe he could be a top 5 back this season and we will see a much more aggressive stance towards the running game.
Why put Tom in danger he has his records save alot of the hits he's gonna take to later on in the season.
Let the combination of Maroney, Faulk ,K Jones hopefully.
allow the patriots to run alot more keeping our young defense off the field and our prolific offense on it also to burn more clock time.

 

[Metaphors]

Marion Barber is overrated.

I don't know if he had done enough to evaluate him as a full-time back. It will be interesting to see if he can survive an increased workload now that his "Hulk smash" stiff-arm move is now a point of emphasis (it has always been illegal).

Slightly off-topic...it is nice to see a point of emphasis not specifically targeted at the Patriots.

 

[castlelong1]

To discuss it I'd have to go to ESPN, so i won't do it, but don't let stop you guys from being traitors.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

>>>> 18. Laurence Maroney, New England Patriots
Superpower --.................. He's not a natural receiver out of the backfield.


Maybe not, but in the open field, he's pretty exciting and his ypc (11.6) is higher than most all of those at the top of the list except ADP (better than S, Jackson, LDT and LJ).......
Hopefully we'll see more of that this season as a change of pace as he's on the field more on obvious passing downs.

 

[DocE]

Quick and dirty:

1. LT
2. ADP
3. SJax
4. Westbrook
5. LJ
6. Addai
7. Gore
8. Barber
9. Portis
10. Lynch
11. Fragile Fred
12. McGahee
13. Fast Willie
14. MJD
15. Jamal Lewis
16. Michael Turner
17. Brandon Jacobs
18. Maroney
19. Ronnie Brown
20. Ryan Grant

The "scouts" from scouts inc don't seem very consistent in applying their criteria (past of body of work and future performance) to this list. It seems like past body of work gives guys like Portis, Taylor, McGahee, and Lewis nice sports on the list, but Rudi Johnson is quite low given his body of work. I'd say Shaun Alexander is also very low given his body of work, but I think he's done.


Too high: Westbrook. Very good player, but the 4th best back in the league? Not with his injury history and he's not that great between the tackles either. I'd rank LJ and Gore ahead of him.

Clinton Portis: 2 years ago he was losing carries to Ladell Betts.

Michael Turner: No way a non starter should be ahead of Laurence Maroney and Ronnie Brown . Turner might be very good in Atlanta or he might prove to be another LaMont Jordan in that he's great as a change of pace back or spot starter, but can't be THE guy.

Underrated:

Ronnie Brown: I've always liked his game and he's played behind some awful Miami Olines and has never had a great QB that opposing defenses have had to worry about. If he was playing on a better team, he'd be in everyone's top ten.

Maroney: I don't think he deserves top ten yet, but he's a very explosive back who made huge plays for the Patriots down the stretch. Guys who can run at the goal line and break a long td run are rare, and Maroney fits that profile.

Reggie Bush: I'll get some heat for this one, but no.25? Any back who runs as well as he does and has great hands, is better than no.25. I wouldn't put him in the top 15, maybe not top 20, but he's behind Lendale White and Edgerrin James on this list.

 

[bradmahn]

Reggie Bush: I'll get some heat for this one, but no.25? Any back who runs as well as he does and has great hands, is better than no.25. I wouldn't put him in the top 15, maybe not top 20, but he's behind Lendale White and Edgerrin James on this list.

I actually think Bush may be too high. He's caught a bunch of passes, but his playmaking ability saw a huge hit once McAllister went down with an injury. He caught fewer passes for fewer yards per (a pathetic 5.7 yards)... but he did raise his ypc from 3.6 to 3.7 and lowered the number of fumbles from 7 to 2. :rocker:

I wouldn't include him in the top 32 running backs but hey, who am I?

 

[Keegs]

:agree:

He's fun to watch, but the way some people gush over him is pretty ridiculous.

he's one of those players that went from underrated to overrated very quickly.

I wish i could think of some other players like this....

 

[thechris]

This is a very strange list. Marshawn Lynch a Top 10 back? Michael Turner over Ronnie Brown, Jacobs, and Maroney? And Fred Taylor over MJD?

 

[Mr.Muhozi]

i agree with thechris, its a strange list, but next year, i expect and hope maroney is in the top 5

 

[Displaced - Fan]

Michael Turner: No way a non starter should be ahead of Laurence Maroney and Ronnie Brown . Turner might be very good in Atlanta or he might prove to be another LaMont Jordan in that he's great as a change of pace back or spot starter, but can't be THE guy.

Underrated:

Ronnie Brown: I've always liked his game and he's played behind some awful Miami Olines and has never had a great QB that opposing defenses have had to worry about. If he was playing on a better team, he'd be in everyone's top ten.

Maroney: I don't think he deserves top ten yet, but he's a very explosive back who made huge plays for the Patriots down the stretch. Guys who can run at the goal line and break a long td run are rare, and Maroney fits that profile.

I personal thought Ronnie Brown was the best back in the league last year. Up till being injured he was leading the league in rushing yards on a crappy team, when teams were keyin gon him.