Dawn of the RB

[PonyExpress]

We Pat fans have been incredibly lucky to see some of the greatest players, if not the greatest players at their positions in NFL history: Hannah, Brady, Haynes, Vinatieri, not to mention Tippett. But one position where we have never seen a homegrown talent reach leaguewide dominance here for the long term is RB. Jim Nance, great, but brief; Sam Bam, a bulldozer but not superstar; Craig James, great but too short a career, and brief flashes of excellence from Stephens and Edwards. Curtis gone after 3 years. In fact, Sam Bam still occupies the #1 position in the Pat record books with a paltry 5400 yards rushing, probably the lowest leading career total for any franchise in the NFL other than Houston and Carolina. When is it our time to see a great runner for 10 years, the kind that electrifies a fan base the way only a great power hitter in baseball can? A Marcus Allen, a Tomlinson, an Emmitt... Could it finally be that time? After 45 years, the law of probability is on our side...

 

[flutie2phelan]

Can understand your enthusiastic anticipation!

Although ... Mills may be good ...
but is he THAT good?

 

[patsox23]

Dude. Heath Evans's ascension started LAST year. Little slow on the uptake, huh?

 

[Tunescribe]

We Pat fans have been incredibly lucky to see some of the greatest players, if not the greatest players at their positions in NFL history: Hannah, Brady, Haynes, Vinatieri, not to mention Tippett. But one position where we have never seen a homegrown talent reach leaguewide dominance here for the long term is RB. Jim Nance, great, but brief; Sam Bam, a bulldozer but not superstar; Craig James, great but too short a career, and brief flashes of excellence from Stephens and Edwards. Curtis gone after 3 years. In fact, Sam Bam still occupies the #1 position in the Pat record books with a paltry 5400 yards rushing, probably the lowest leading career total for any franchise in the NFL other than Houston and Carolina. When is it our time to see a great runner for 10 years, the kind that electrifies a fan base the way only a great power hitter in baseball can? A Marcus Allen, a Tomlinson, an Emmitt... Could it finally be that time? After 45 years, the law of probability is on our side...

We had one and let him go -- Curtis Martin.

 

[dryheat44]

I don't think we'll see one while Belichick is running the show. Running backs tend to be fungible in the NFL. If you have a good offensive line and a strong passing game, an NFL-calibre RB will look great. A lot of a RBs success depends on luck. Emmitt Smith and Shaun Alexander come immediately to mind as very good RBs, but other RBs, say Stephen Davis and Thomas Jones, for the hell of it, would have had Hall of Fame careers also behind those O-lines.

I can't see the day where BB rewards a RB with a huge contract that will keep him in New England when his rookie/bargain contract expires. Too many teams will offer huge dollars, and BB will allow said RB to walk, and find an undervalued RB in free agency or the draft. It's going to take a great RB to really want to finish his career in New England.

Now, If Maroney is the next coming of Jim Brown, then we'll make an exception.

 

[mgteich]

I like the team approach to the running game: a primary back, a short-yardage and backup back, and a third down back. We also have an H-back/FB who does not carry to the ball (in the tradition of probowl FB Sam Gash). As we develop a more balanced attack, I would even carry a 4th back who can carry the ball in case of injuries. Pass filled that role last year.

We are not know nor will be primarily a running team under the regime of Belichick/Brady. And we shouldn't be.

We don't seek a running back to build the team around. We don't want to be as dependent as SD and Indy on the performance of their backs. Sure, I'd like our running game to run up bigger number and be more of a threat (not really a difficult task). But I like the approach of focusing on the OL, focusing on other blockers like TE's and a FB. And even developing a better more organized short yardage offense.

 

[ilduce06410]

a few more, IMO all strong

We had one and let him go -- Curtis Martin.

i can think of these players who went to at least 4 pro bowls ;

ben coates, russ francis --- coates was a great TE, and francis was "all-world ''
stanley morgan--bethel johnson who had it together, really fast
raymond clayborn--a fast version of ty law
steve nelson--one of the top 4 ILBs of his era

 

[dryheat44]

i can think of these players who went to at least 4 pro bowls ;

ben coates, russ francis --- coates was a great TE, and francis was "all-world ''
stanley morgan--bethel johnson who had it together, really fast
raymond clayborn--a fast version of ty law
steve nelson--one of the top 4 ILBs of his era

That's a random thought to post in a Running Back thread.

 

[ilduce06410]

look, i'm an old man

That's a random thought to post in a Running Back thread.

cut me a little slack, 44.
you're right, i thought that soon as i sent it, but i figured nobody's keeping score.

 

[PonyExpress]

I don't think we'll see one while Belichick is running the show. Running backs tend to be fungible in the NFL. If you have a good offensive line and a strong passing game, an NFL-calibre RB will look great. A lot of a RBs success depends on luck. Emmitt Smith and Shaun Alexander come immediately to mind as very good RBs, but other RBs, say Stephen Davis and Thomas Jones, for the hell of it, would have had Hall of Fame careers also behind those O-lines.

I can't see the day where BB rewards a RB with a huge contract that will keep him in New England when his rookie/bargain contract expires. Too many teams will offer huge dollars, and BB will allow said RB to walk, and find an undervalued RB in free agency or the draft. It's going to take a great RB to really want to finish his career in New England.

Now, If Maroney is the next coming of Jim Brown, then we'll make an exception.

I would have agreed with your premise that BB is happy with a cookie cutter Rb approach, before he traded a #2 for Dillon in '04 and then drafted Maroney at #21. This tells me that Brady and BB are trying to find that great Rb who is the lynchpin of every prolific championship caliber offense. One major reason for this could be concern for Brady's longterm health, another recognition that Charlie isn't around anymore to shine S**T. Whatever the motivation, BB looked positively giddy to my eyes when he met the press after the Maroney pick, and word has since leaked out about Maroney from several places: (1) That if Maroney had fallen to the late first, Parcells would have traded Julius Jones to the Jets and moved up and drafted Maroney, (2)Shanahan's apparent interest in him, and (3) Polian's. Combining these 4 personnel minds: BB/Pioli, Polian, Parcells, Shanahan we are talking about 4 of the best talent evaluators in league history. I have also diminished Emmitt's production in the past, but often a RB makes an O-line and not vice versa. He and Shaun Alexander, as much as I dislike his running style are tremendously durable and that is 3/4 of the battle.

 

[dryheat44]

I would have agreed with your premise that BB is happy with a cookie cutter Rb approach, before he traded a #2 for Dillon in '04 and then drafted Maroney at #21. This tells me that Brady and BB are trying to find that great Rb who is the lynchpin of every prolific championship caliber offense. One major reason for this could be concern for Brady's longterm health, another recognition that Charlie isn't around anymore to shine S**T. Whatever the motivation, BB looked positively giddy to my eyes when he met the press after the Maroney pick, and word has since leaked out about Maroney from several places: (1) That if Maroney had fallen to the late first, Parcells would have traded Julius Jones to the Jets and moved up and drafted Maroney, (2)Shanahan's apparent interest in him, and (3) Polian's. Combining these 4 personnel minds: BB/Pioli, Polian, Parcells, Shanahan we are talking about 4 of the best talent evaluators in league history. I have also diminished Emmitt's production in the past, but often a RB makes an O-line and not vice versa. He and Shaun Alexander, as much as I dislike his running style are tremendously durable and that is 3/4 of the battle.

Maroney might be great, I'm not disputing that. He could very well lead the league in rushing. My point is that if he's that successful, when he hits free agency, BB is extremely unlikely to retain him. He'll be thrown huge contracts by some teams around the NFL that just don't get it. Therefore, it's hard to imagine the Patriots getting one of the all-time great RBs on their roster for the majority of their career.

 

[tombonneau]

Maroney might be great, I'm not disputing that. He could very well lead the league in rushing. My point is that if he's that successful, when he hits free agency, BB is extremely unlikely to retain him. He'll be thrown huge contracts by some teams around the NFL that just don't get it. Therefore, it's hard to imagine the Patriots getting one of the all-time great RBs on their roster for the majority of their career.

I dont know if this is true. Teams seem to be savvying up to the fact that RBs are a commodities of fleeting value and are reluctant to pony up big dough in free agency for them.

Edge & Alexander were being dangled for 2nd rounders a few years ago and no one was willing to bite.

So unless Maroney ends up with LT like #s, I think he would be retainble.

 

[dryheat44]

I dont know if this is true. Teams seem to be savvying up to the fact that RBs are a commodities of fleeting value and are reluctant to pony up big dough in free agency for them.

Edge & Alexander were being dangled for 2nd rounders a few years ago and no one was willing to bite.

So unless Maroney ends up with LT like #s, I think he would be retainble.

Take a look at what Edge and Alexander got in free agency, though. Alexander set a new benchmark. Edge did very well too, and he's a few years older.

I think the teams were hesitant to trade last year is because their contracts were expiring, and they would quite possibly only have them for one year.

 

[edzo44]

Maroney might be great, I'm not disputing that. He could very well lead the league in rushing. My point is that if he's that successful, when he hits free agency, BB is extremely unlikely to retain him. He'll be thrown huge contracts by some teams around the NFL that just don't get it. Therefore, it's hard to imagine the Patriots getting one of the all-time great RBs on their roster for the majority of their career.

That's somewhat ironic because I would have said exactly the same thing about getting Big Sey staying here past 2006! Wasn't very likely, but it happened. I wouldn't push Maroney out of the realm of possibility if he turns out exceptionally great.

 

[mgteich]

In what way was Edge retainable to the colts? That no one was willing to trade is another issue entirely.

I dont know if this is true. Teams seem to be savvying up to the fact that RBs are a commodities of fleeting value and are reluctant to pony up big dough in free agency for them.

Edge & Alexander were being dangled for 2nd rounders a few years ago and no one was willing to bite.

So unless Maroney ends up with LT like #s, I think he would be retainble.

 

[Water Boy]

We Pat fans have been incredibly lucky to see some of the greatest players, if not the greatest players at their positions in NFL history: Hannah, Brady, Haynes, Vinatieri, not to mention Tippett. But one position where we have never seen a homegrown talent reach leaguewide dominance here for the long term is RB. Jim Nance, great, but brief; Sam Bam, a bulldozer but not superstar; Craig James, great but too short a career, and brief flashes of excellence from Stephens and Edwards. Curtis gone after 3 years. In fact, Sam Bam still occupies the #1 position in the Pat record books with a paltry 5400 yards rushing, probably the lowest leading career total for any franchise in the NFL other than Houston and Carolina. When is it our time to see a great runner for 10 years, the kind that electrifies a fan base the way only a great power hitter in baseball can? A Marcus Allen, a Tomlinson, an Emmitt... Could it finally be that time? After 45 years, the law of probability is on our side...

The irony is that the Patriots were a very good running team during the Hannah era and early 90s.

 

[jczxohn1]

Maroney might be great, I'm not disputing that. He could very well lead the league in rushing. My point is that if he's that successful, when he hits free agency, BB is extremely unlikely to retain him. He'll be thrown huge contracts by some teams around the NFL that just don't get it. Therefore, it's hard to imagine the Patriots getting one of the all-time great RBs on their roster for the majority of their career.

Not saying you're wrong, but if the value of team loyalty he displayed in high school doesn't change, he may stick around. Once Corey is gone there may be enough cap room at the position to make him an offer he can live with.

 

[mgteich]

Maroney might be offered an extension after two years, as our future franchise running back. This should be doable since he would get a big immediate second signing bonus instead of waiting another three years. Of course, this will require him to develop into a franchise running back.

Not saying you're wrong, but if the value of team loyalty he displayed in high school doesn't change, he may stick around. Once Corey is gone there may be enough cap room at the position to make him an offer he can live with.