Running Backs For 2015

varjao said:

And the draft looks solid, It will be an interesting free agency in the running back market. I just don't see BB paying good money for a FA RB with the players we have in the house and having to sign our own expensive FA like Revis and Dmac.

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Why bother adding high priced Free Agent RBs when rookies come in and perform like Jeremy Hill?

Armchair Quarterback said:

Oh yes, I don't think he is a special player so of course that means I hate him. Very mature way of thinking. Faulk was a good football player, very clutch but I wouldn't necessarily describe him as a special player. He also did a lot of things that can't be measured in YPC.

Do you think throwing out 4.2 YPR or 8.8 YPC boosts your argument of Vereen as a special player? You want to compare stats, why not do it with Woodhead whose numbers are superior pretty much across the board?

He's a decent player, limited in some areas, has some strengths in others but not a special player. Even your cherry picked stats say so.

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You've been criticizing Vereen since he was drafted by the Patriots.

With the narrative now being that RBs are fungible and no longer worthy of heavy investment, I wonder if we are approaching the point when the position becomes an arbitrage opportunity. If someone who would have been a top 10 pick a decade ago spirals down to 29, does Bill make the move?

ausbacker said:

Why bother adding high priced Free Agent RBs when rookies come in and perform like Jeremy Hill?

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Because the rookie might be James White?

Seriously, I don't see a reason to either. If you want to go the FA route, just find the next Sammy Morris and that should be enough.

ausbacker said:

Why bother adding high priced Free Agent RBs when rookies come in and perform like Jeremy Hill?

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And why should any team use high draft choices for quarterback when guys like Brady were available in the 6th round?

I do agree that the value is not there in highly priced RB's. However, you might check to see how much free agent running backs received last year. When we review the list, how many were high-priced, and who might we have picked up for a reasonable price.

Oswlek said:

With the narrative now being that RBs are fungible and no longer worthy of heavy investment, I wonder if we are approaching the point when the position becomes an arbitrage opportunity. If someone who would have been a top 10 pick a decade ago spirals down to 29, does Bill make the move?

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No doubt that we still have the luxury of being able to choose BPA--assuming that Revis/McCourty are still here.

I think it'd have to be a fairly clear top 10 talent though, maybe top 15 at worst, for it to be RB.

Brady6 said:

I learned a lesson this past week with Amendola and that is not to confuse lack of opportunity with being a poor player.

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(rubs eyes)

supafly said:

(rubs eyes)

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(rubs them again)

mgteich said:

And why should any team use high draft choices for quarterback when guys like Brady were available in the 6th round?

I do agree that the value is not there in highly priced RB's. However, you might check to see how much free agent running backs received last year. When we review the list, how many were high-priced, and who might we have picked up for a reasonable price.

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This is something of a peculiar post @mgteich. IMO, it is considerably more difficult to find a long term QB than it is to find a long term RB. I'm aware that the market for RBs dried considerably across 2013-2014 but why the need to invest when you can pluck a player out of college and have them perform as well as seasoned veterans almost immediately?

ausbacker said:

This is something of a peculiar post @mgteich. IMO, it is considerably more difficult to find long term QB than it is to find a long term RB. I'm aware that the market for RBs dried considerably across 2013-2014 but why the need to invest when you can pluck a player out of college and have them perform as well as seasoned veterans almost immediately?

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Perhaps, I misunderstood you. If so, I apologize. I am certainly not suggested that Belichick pay top dollar for a free agent running back. Was anyone doing that, except perhaps for Vereen?

First, there is no guarantee a particular college RB will perform as well as a seasoned veteran. In recent years, Belichick has brought in veteran free agents. Some have performed well; some have not.

Belichick has also used early draft choices for running backs: Maroney, Vereen, Ridley and White. That is a significant use of resources. These players rarely have done very well in their rookie years. Each year there are rookie RB's who succeed and lots that don't. If we want help in a particular year, I would consider a veteran to be more likely to produce than a rookie, although a 1st or 2nd round rookie would be much more likely to perform well than one drafted later.

And of course, occasionally, Belichick trades for a RB.
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BOTTOM LINE
I agree that Belichick is unlikely to use top dollar to sign a veteran that he doesn't know. Besides, we have Gray, Blount, Bolden (presuming that he is re-signed which seems very likely), White and Develin.

you guys think Moreno is done? Iirc he signed a one year contract with the dolphins. He had a small knee surgery in the off season, then got IR'd, I think he will be cheap.

ausbacker said:

Why bother adding high priced Free Agent RBs when rookies come in and perform like Jeremy Hill?

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Or even better, when UDFA rookies perform like Arian Foster?

Seriously, unless Bill acquires another couple of day 2 picks, I see no reason to draft a RB before day 3,
at the earliest.

captain stone said:

Or even better, when UDFA rookies perform like Arian Foster?

Seriously, unless Bill acquires another couple of day 2 picks, I see no reason to draft a RB before day 3,
at the earliest.

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I generally find it easier to defer to Belichick's judgement unless it's Wide Receivers. If he thinks a RB is worth taking in the first round, then I don't have a problem with it.

JackBauer said:

You've been criticizing Vereen since he was drafted by the Patriots.

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Nope, I'm just the guy that called it correctly from the beginning. You must be his White Knight.

And since when is calling someone a decent player a criticism?

Armchair Quarterback said:

Nope, I'm just the guy that called it correctly from the beginning. You must be his White Knight.

And since when is calling someone a decent player a criticism?

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Negative. Simply pointing that you correcting others for their comparatively glowing evaluation(s) of Vereen warrants the caveat that you've been shading the guy pretty much since he was drafted. That's all.

JackBauer said:

Negative. Simply pointing that you correcting others for their comparatively glowing evaluation(s) of Vereen warrants the caveat that you've been shading the guy pretty much since he was drafted. That's all.

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Wrong.

Would anyone want Peterson if he got released? I could see some decent RBs being FAs this year.

s3antana5757 said:

Would anyone want Peterson if he got released? I could see some decent RBs being FAs this year.

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I think the odds are fairly high that another team will overpay for him. He'll still likely get a nice payday in my opinion, at least for a RB anyway.