Running Back - We Have THREE Open Spots

[jmt57]

NOT getting younger than last year would be very difficult indeed. We would need to bring back ALL THREE of the oldest running backs in the nfl.

The Patriots had already become much younger at running back before the season ended last year.

• 25-year old BenJarvus Green-Ellis had 241 touches
• 25-year old Danny Woodhead had 131 touches
• the 'old guys' had 86 touches

Add in Thomas Clayton's six carries and it turns out that the young running backs had more than 81% of the carries and receptions carries for the Patriots' running backs last year. Contrary to popular belief the Patriots are not old at RB, nor are they in need of getting younger at the position in my opinion. Though they are in need of adding one or two new running backs to the roster, it is not imperative that they draft two running backs.

 

[mgteich]

OK, so let's not let the one old guy get any more than 86 touches in 2011.

The Patriots had already become much younger at running back before the season ended last year.

• 25-year old BenJarvus Green-Ellis had 241 touches
• 25-year old Danny Woodhead had 131 touches
• the 'old guys' had 86 touches

Add in Thomas Clayton's six carries and it turns out that the young running backs had more than 81% of the carries and receptions carries for the Patriots' running backs last year. Contrary to popular belief the Patriots are not old at RB, nor are they in need of getting younger at the position in my opinion. Though they are in need of adding one or two new running backs to the roster, it is not imperative that they draft two running backs.

 

[jeffbiologist]

Hey guys, why not bring back Taylor along with Morris and Faulk. That way we can again have the three oldest running backs in the nfl playing for the patriots.

We are running back by committee so why does it matter how old the guys are? We know how BB values ST, Faulk and Morris dont have to be taught and may be had cheaper than we think, who knows. Replace Taylor certainly. I do know come late in the year I'd be more comfortable with more than 1 vet RB on the roster, and Woodhead isnt one of em.

 

[captain stone]

Not to be a killjoy, but don't be surprised to see Sammy Morris back for one more.

Experience, Special Teams factor, part-time FB, can play some 3rd down, hard-nosed N-S runner. He knows the offense, which may be critical this season.

Just sayin...

Don't even suggest that in jest, though I wouldn't object to seeing Kevin Faulk return
for one more season. Then all Bill has to do is sign a FA like Jason Snelling or Vonta Leach
for short-yardage/goal-line situations, and add a young Power Back as a late-round/UDFA.
Problem solved.

 

[VJCPatriot]

OK, so let's not let the one old guy get any more than 86 touches in 2011.

Why don't we just draft 5 RBs so we can satisfy the RB fetish expressed in this thread? RB is not a huge need for this team. We need backups and roleplayers not starters. BJGE is the starter for the foreseeable future and Woodhead has the 3rd down back role nailed down. And neither of these players are over 26 years old.

 

[zgotts]

The Patriots had already become much younger at running back before the season ended last year.

• 25-year old BenJarvus Green-Ellis had 241 touches
• 25-year old Danny Woodhead had 131 touches
• the 'old guys' had 86 touches

Add in Thomas Clayton's six carries and it turns out that the young running backs had more than 81% of the carries and receptions carries for the Patriots' running backs last year. Contrary to popular belief the Patriots are not old at RB, nor are they in need of getting younger at the position in my opinion. Though they are in need of adding one or two new running backs to the roster, it is not imperative that they draft two running backs.

Good points here.

However, while the Patriots aren't OLD at RB, I still think they need to add more talent. BJGE and Woodhead are a good starting point and fine for now, but I think we've seen the best those two are going give us. I'm not saying their production will dip, but I can't imagine it getting better.

I think the obvious answer to any issues we may have at RB is take a back in the mid rounds -- a guy who has potential to be a "feature" back, but wouldn't necessarily break the bank if he doesn't pan out. (yeah yeah, we use RB-by-committee, I get that, but if we happened to find a mid round RB gem who can give us 20+ carries a game, I don't think BB or any of us fans would be complaining).

Kendall Hunter in the 3rd (not totally likely but possible), or Roy Helu Jr/DeMarco Murray in the 4th or 5th could be that guy.

Personally, i think Helu Jr in the 4th is the right call there.

 

[mgteich]

We each have our biases. You would find three old vets that may or may not be able to make any roster this year.

I'm fine with any combination of three running back additions to compete with Faulk and Clayton for the open spots. Since we are going into the draft and since we don't know what we will get in free agency, it seemed reasonable to explore securing running backs with one or two of our 9 draft picks.

Why don't we just draft 5 RBs so we can satisfy the RB fetish expressed in this thread? RB is not a huge need for this team. We need backups and roleplayers not starters. BJGE is the starter for the foreseeable future and Woodhead has the 3rd down back role nailed down. And neither of these players are over 26 years old.

 

[patchick]

Personally, i think Helu Jr in the 4th is the right call there.

I have trouble picturing Helu on the Patriots. His best attribute is that tremendous burst from 1st to 2nd gear once he sees daylight, which really is something to watch. But when daylight doesn't materialize he just isn't a guy who keeps his feet churning to grind out the tough 2-3 yards. Pair that with the fact that he doesn't seem like much of a factor in pass protection or as a receiver, and how do you use him?

 

[zgotts]

I have trouble picturing Helu on the Patriots. His best attribute is that tremendous burst from 1st to 2nd gear once he sees daylight, which really is something to watch. But when daylight doesn't materialize he just isn't a guy who keeps his feet churning to grind out the tough 2-3 yards. Pair that with the fact that he doesn't seem like much of a factor in pass protection or as a receiver, and how do you use him?

Fair points on the fact that he hasn't shown much as a blocker or receiver. But a couple things. First, he doesn't necessarily need to be a pass catcher -- we still have Faulk and Woody, and Hernandez can line up in the back field as a passing option. As for blocking, he at least has a frame big enough to be decent if he is taught technique.

But that extra gear, combined with his size, is what we DON'T have in our backfield right now. That's why I want to take a chance on him.

I also really like Todman -- there's a guy who has speed and can catch the ball, has proved he can be the workhorse (at least at the college level), and defintiely does finish his runs. UConn's small but weak pedigree in the NFL is a bit of a red flag though, and I don't really see him being a "feature" back in the NFL.

 

[carolinatony]

Pick up a FA and draft one in the later rounds and we will be fine.

I value a solid OL more.

 

[patchick]

Fair points on the fact that he hasn't shown much as a blocker or receiver. But a couple things. First, he doesn't necessarily need to be a pass catcher -- we still have Faulk and Woody, and Hernandez can line up in the back field as a passing option. As for blocking, he at least has a frame big enough to be decent if he is taught technique.

But that extra gear, combined with his size, is what we DON'T have in our backfield right now. That's why I want to take a chance on him.

I think what bothers me most is that despite Helu's size, he's not a powerful inside runner. He has long, lean legs for an RB and seems to go down pretty easily (if they can catch him, granted!) It seems to me that if size doesn't translate into power, it becomes a liability rather than a strength.

 

[mgteich]

I value OL more also. So? We have 7 draft picks in the first four rounds. Almost all will make the team. I agree that 2 should be offensive lineman. I think that 2 should be front seven defensive players.

That leaves three picks for other positions. I believe that running abck should be addressed with 1-2 of these three picks. I believe that a safety should also be drafted if the value is there.

There are plenty of picks to get our 2 OL's, our 2 DE/OLB's and still have picks left to address the running back situation.

Pick up a FA and draft one in the later rounds and we will be fine.

I value a solid OL more.

 

[mgteich]

I value OL more also. So? We have 7 draft picks in the first four rounds. Almost all will make the team. I agree that 2 should be offensive lineman. I think that 2 should be front seven defensive players.

That leaves three picks for other positions. I believe that running abck should be addressed with 1-2 of these three picks. I believe that a safety should also be drafted if the value is there.

There are plenty of picks to get our 2 OL's, our 2 DE/OLB's and still have picks left to address the running back situation.

Pick up a FA and draft one in the later rounds and we will be fine.

I value a solid OL more.

 

[jmt57]

I value OL more also. So? We have 7 draft picks in the first four rounds. Almost all will make the team. I agree that 2 should be offensive lineman. I think that 2 should be front seven defensive players.

That leaves three picks for other positions. I believe that running abck should be addressed with 1-2 of these three picks. I believe that a safety should also be drafted if the value is there.

There are plenty of picks to get our 2 OL's, our 2 DE/OLB's and still have picks left to address the running back situation.

I'm guessing one draft pick will be traded into 2012; right now the Pats have only five picks next year, and that concept worked pretty well in the very recent past when #89 became #33 one year later.

One running back with one of those other picks in the first four rounds? Absolutely, of course. I'm just not on board for taking one very early (like Ian Rapoport of the Herald seems to suggest with Ingram.)

Before the first running back is drafted I'd like to see at least one (preferably two) offensive linemen and at least one (preferably two) players to join the defensive front seven. Then before a second running back is drafted let's at the very least consider a safety, corner, and wide receiver as well.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Fair points on the fact that he hasn't shown much as a blocker or receiver. But a couple things. First, he doesn't necessarily need to be a pass catcher -- we still have Faulk and Woody, and Hernandez can line up in the back field as a passing option. As for blocking, he at least has a frame big enough to be decent if he is taught technique.

But that extra gear, combined with his size, is what we DON'T have in our backfield right now. That's why I want to take a chance on him.

I also really like Todman -- there's a guy who has speed and can catch the ball, has proved he can be the workhorse (at least at the college level), and defintiely does finish his runs. UConn's small but weak pedigree in the NFL is a bit of a red flag though, and I don't really see him being a "feature" back in the NFL.

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.

 

[Sciz]

I'm a big fan of Shane Vereen and Anthony Sherman. Vereen is bigger and slower than Woodhead, but smaller and faster than Benny. He's more of an all around guy than either of them, but isn't "bad" at anything. Sherman is a solid FB and a great coverage man. To make the Pats' roster, a FB is going to have to contribute on special teams, and Sherman would do that.

Third back can be 1 of Morris, Faulk, or Clayton, or a random free agent pickup. He'd be the 4th ball-carrier option at best.

 

[VJCPatriot]

I'd take a look at Vereen in the 3rd. But I wouldn't pick a RB early in this year's draft. Wait till next year the class should be better at the top.

 

[MaineMan]

Fair points on the fact that he hasn't shown much as a blocker or receiver. But a couple things. First, he doesn't necessarily need to be a pass catcher -- we still have Faulk and Woody, and Hernandez can line up in the back field as a passing option. As for blocking, he at least has a frame big enough to be decent if he is taught technique.

But that extra gear, combined with his size, is what we DON'T have in our backfield right now. That's why I want to take a chance on him.

I also really like Todman -- there's a guy who has speed and can catch the ball, has proved he can be the workhorse (at least at the college level), and defintiely does finish his runs. UConn's small but weak pedigree in the NFL is a bit of a red flag though, and I don't really see him being a "feature" back in the NFL.

I disagree with this. Seems to me that the fewer clues the offense gives the defense as to whether it's going to run or pass out of a given set, the more that the defense has to guess how to optimally apportion its 11 resources. The offense gets only five eligible pass-catchers. 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. Sure, you CAN line up Hernandez in the backfield, but, out of a two-back set, how effective is he likely to be as a run-blocker? And how effective is he likely to be running the ball after taking a hand-off? How effective would that set really be in fooling a defense into misappropriating its resources?

That gets even worse if the RB can't do any significant damage without an extra blocker, since play-action out of a 4wr-1rb set isn't as much of a threat. Not so bad for us when that extra blocker is Gronk since he catches about as well as he run-blocks, even though his route repertoire is somewhat limited. However, if the RB needs TWO "real" extra blockers, and one of them is Crumpler, you've cut the legitimate passing targets roughly in half and almost completely de-legitimized play-action.

So, 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.

 

[serifyn]

Mikel Leshoure pretty much never fumbles, and he is a bigger back who could be molded into a Stephen Jackson type player with the right coaching, alot of people are saying his run style is too similar to BJGE though and the patriots might be looking for a more explosive back like Ryan Williams.

 

[SamBamsFan]

I think that with us using a lot of 2-3 TE formations in the near future(and sending multi TE's out on patterns), the primary RB we should look for in this offseason is one with the ability to protect Brady at all cost. I look back and want a FB-size RB like we had with Heath Evans/ Marc Edwards, or just solid pass protectors like Patrick Pass, or Sammy Morris. All of these backs had the ability to catch 17-30 passes, and rush a few times a game. Obviously, we picked up three of the four as veteran FA's. There are a number of guys that I am looking @ that should be available in the rounds 4-6 as well.

My thoughts (in no particular order):
Stevan Ridley
Jamie Harper
Anthony Sherman
Stanley Havili
Anthony Allen (he was not used @ GT in this roll, but had 37 receptions @ Louisville)

All of these backs were also solid special teamers, which the Pats always look for.

In terms of drafting an "Alpha Back", I am a little paralysed by analysis @ this moment. Obviously I would love one, I just don't know his name right now....