Toby Gerhart RB

[Snake Eyes]

Because you seem too smart to actually google what reverse racism is, its the act of discriminating against majorities. Please just google the term next time instead of asking me, reverse racism isn't made up and im not the first person to use it. for example:
High court backs firefighters in reverse discrimination suit - CNN.com
You may not agree with the term but until its deemed socially obsolete I and many others will continue to use it.

An act is plain racist no matter the race of the person discriminated, to suggest otherwise is that only the 'majority' is capable of being racist. I am aware that many people use it but that doesn't make it any less of a stupid term, and stupid people will continue to use it.

 

[TriplecHamp]

An act is plain racist no matter the race of the person discriminated, to suggest otherwise is that only the 'majority' is capable of being racist. I am aware that many people use it but that doesn't make it any less of a stupid term, and stupid people will continue to use it.

Reverse racism simply implies that the majority is being discriminated against. To get this back on topic, Gerharts race has nothing to do with his abilty to play RB in the NFL, his speed and agility do.

 

[Snake Eyes]

Reverse racism simply implies that the majority is being discriminated against. To get this back on topic, Gerharts race has nothing to do with his abilty to play RB in the NFL, his speed and agility do.

I know exactly what it implies, it's still a garbage term because "racism" is not exclusive of any one group, a minority can be racist.

As far Gerhart, his speed is fine, Emmitt Smith only ran a 4.8 but he was able to shift directions extremely well and his height along with his thick legs made him difficult to bring down. Gerhart might be a good side dish but I wouldnt bet on him as a main course.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Mods, I think the political discussion has run it's course may we have some closure?

 

[TriplecHamp]

I know exactly what it implies, it's still a garbage term because "racism" is not exclusive of any one group, a minority can be racist.

As far Gerhart, his speed is fine, Emmitt Smith only ran a 4.8 but he was able to shift directions extremely well and his height along with his thick legs made him difficult to bring down. Gerhart might be a good side dish but I wouldnt bet on him as a main course.

I have seen 0 cutback ability from gerhart, he may be tough to bring down in the open field but I don't see Dlineman or Linebackers having any trouble bringing him down in the NFL.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

I know exactly what it implies, it's still a garbage term because "racism" is not exclusive of any one group, a minority can be racist.

As far Gerhart, his speed is fine, Emmitt Smith only ran a 4.8 but he was able to shift directions extremely well and his height along with his thick legs made him difficult to bring down. Gerhart might be a good side dish but I wouldnt bet on him as a main course.

even i can run with emmitt's oline.

gerhart runs a 4.55, a little slower than spiller, best and matthews.

 

[condon84]

His best attribute by far is his feet. He has Jerome Bettis feet. His oline DID create huge holes for him, but RB yardage should be considered a team stat. His ten yard split is slower than what I would like. I think his feet make up for everything.

Sorry man, but I completely disagree with your comparison. Bettis probably had the best feet of any big RB ever in the NFL. He was extremely quick and light on his feet while I view Gerhart more like Tommy Vardell, who didn't have enough speed and quickness to become a feature back but was successful as a FB.

Gerhart doesn't have enough quickness to be compared to Jacobs, Allstott or Jamal Lewis. All these big guys were shifty and was quick to get up to speed in their primes.

What I see of Gerhart is the Cory Dillon we had in 2006. Is that worth a first round pick?

 

[SanAngeloState]

I don't think 40 time is his problem. In his clips I see him run upright, through huge holes and bowling over tiny LBs and DBs. Not much agility or moves.

I don't think that works as well in the NFL. The pats can't open a huge hole for anyone.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

it looks like Best suffered a concussion while leaping into the end zone on one TD play last year. he also sustained ANOTHER concussion. What if effect do you guys think that will have on his NFL career?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyv4du7BTOc

I say it's too risky to take Best. We already have a glass RB in Maroney - don't want another one. I say we draft Matthews or Tate. Spiller and Dwyer will be gone by the 2nd round.

 

[Snake Eyes]

even i can run with emmitt's oline.

gerhart runs a 4.55, a little slower than spiller, best and matthews.

I find myself agreeing with TriplecHamp, how good is Gerhart's ability to cut and change directions? I think he's going to be a 1 trick pony, I like him and would love to have him on the team but given all of our needs I don't see how one can take him in the spots needed.

 

[Snake Eyes]

even i can run with emmitt's oline.

gerhart runs a 4.55, a little slower than spiller, best and matthews.

Take a look at Smith's highlights, there are plenty of plays when he's out in the open breaking tackles, making guys miss, and bouncing off defenders. I don't think Smith would have had nearly the success he did without his monster line but that doesn't discount his own abilities, he was an excellent back.

 

[Nonentity]

I've now watched Spiller, Best, Mathews and Gerhart on YouTube. Don't all laugh at once - it's the best I can do. Still need to watch Jonathan Dwyer, Montario Hardesty and Ben Tate.

Although you can only see their best plays, you can still get a feel for what style of player they are and whether or not their skills seem to translate to the NFL.


Spiller is easily the best RB in this draft. He runs slalom-style, weaving between defenders with a twitch of his hips, and he's gone. Follows his blocks well, as you would expect of any top punt returner.

I really liked Best. He has speed for the off-tackle runs to reach the corner quickly. But his biggest feature was how he planted his foot and completely switched his direction. He's got great footwork which helps his stop-start running style no end. He beat a lot of defenders by forcing them to run at an angle to where they thought he would get to (because of his speed), then planting at full speed and cutting back behind them. His acceleration is truly top notch, which is why the foot plant works so well when taking on defenders. He will beat safeties almost every time, especially against a Cover 2 where he can simply run between the two safeties with his speed. I liked his footwork too and he can catch the ball out of the backfield. Question marks probably remain over his running up the middle, although he didn't appear to have a great OL and rescued a lot of busted plays by running through traffic up the hashmarks.

Mathews produced but I didn't feel there was an X-factor like I did with Spiller and Best. He got through some gaps that he had no right to get through, and ran with determination. I'm not sure how well that would translate to the pro level though. Perhaps the upside is what's most lacking - he would be as good behind a bad OL as he would behind a good one. I think he'd get tackled earlier in the NFL than he did in college, where he ducked through a lot of high arm tackles. He reminds me a lot of Adrian Peterson in terms of running style, but without the speed or the sheer power. It seems like the sort of play-style where it works on boys in college, but not against men at the pro level.

I watched Gerhart with awe. He puts his head into every single defender and dares them to bring him down. He has enough speed to run in space without out-pacing NFL defensive backs. But I couldn't draft him, not in a million years. I read Gladwell's article on concussions and there's no way I could send a player out onto the field with that running style. He will get killed in the pros, I'm sure of it. As a defensive co-ordinator I would just line up the old Rodney Harrison up on him and tell him to make his money, it would be barbaric.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

I've now watched Spiller, Best, Mathews and Gerhart on YouTube. Don't all laugh at once - it's the best I can do. Still need to watch Jonathan Dwyer, Montario Hardesty and Ben Tate.

Although you can only see their best plays, you can still get a feel for what style of player they are and whether or not their skills seem to translate to the NFL.


Spiller is easily the best RB in this draft. He runs slalom-style, weaving between defenders with a twitch of his hips, and he's gone. Follows his blocks well, as you would expect of any top punt returner.

I really liked Best. He has speed for the off-tackle runs to reach the corner quickly. But his biggest feature was how he planted his foot and completely switched his direction. He's got great footwork which helps his stop-start running style no end. He beat a lot of defenders by forcing them to run at an angle to where they thought he would get to (because of his speed), then planting at full speed and cutting back behind them. His acceleration is truly top notch, which is why the foot plant works so well when taking on defenders. He will beat safeties almost every time, especially against a Cover 2 where he can simply run between the two safeties with his speed. I liked his footwork too and he can catch the ball out of the backfield. Question marks probably remain over his running up the middle, although he didn't appear to have a great OL and rescued a lot of busted plays by running through traffic up the hashmarks.

Mathews produced but I didn't feel there was an X-factor like I did with Spiller and Best. He got through some gaps that he had no right to get through, and ran with determination. I'm not sure how well that would translate to the pro level though. Perhaps the upside is what's most lacking - he would be as good behind a bad OL as he would behind a good one. I think he'd get tackled earlier in the NFL than he did in college, where he ducked through a lot of high arm tackles. He reminds me a lot of Adrian Peterson in terms of running style, but without the speed or the sheer power. It seems like the sort of play-style where it works on boys in college, but not against men at the pro level.

I watched Gerhart with awe. He puts his head into every single defender and dares them to bring him down. He has enough speed to run in space without out-pacing NFL defensive backs. But I couldn't draft him, not in a million years. I read Gladwell's article on concussions and there's no way I could send a player out onto the field with that running style. He will get killed in the pros, I'm sure of it. As a defensive co-ordinator I would just line up the old Rodney Harrison up on him and tell him to make his money, it would be barbaric.

i like best too but take a look at that clip of him getting a concussion that I posted above. He already had 2 concussions last year. I say Best is too risky.

 

[Metaphors]

If your line isn't opening holes, why do you want a bigger, slower RB trying to get through those non-holes? You think it will get easier to block between the tackles when the defense doesn't have to worry about any runs outside the hashmarks?

If you want to upgrade Maroney, at least get a threat that keeps safeties on their heels and linebackers from crashing inside.

BTW, Maroney is 25 yo. Shonn Greene (the present and future of the Jets) is 6 months younger. Methinks there might be time for young Laurence to yet reach his potential.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

i like best too but take a look at that clip of him getting a concussion that I posted above. He already had 2 concussions last year. I say Best is too risky.

I think Best is more of a third down back, not sure if he is an every down back.

But on the subject on concussions. I think every RB has them, it's just not every RB reports them. In some of the smaller schools, I wonder if the trainers even recognize when players have them.

 

[dryheat44]

I find myself agreeing with TriplecHamp, how good is Gerhart's ability to cut and change directions? I think he's going to be a 1 trick pony, I like him and would love to have him on the team but given all of our needs I don't see how one can take him in the spots needed.

Funny you say that, because so far Spiller has refused to perform a shuttle or 3-Cone for scouts. There's been no mention of an injury, but I have a feeling he's not running them because in his Combine prep he wasn't putting up very good times.

Now, everybody who's watched Spiller return punts knows he's shifty. And it's true that those drills probably couldn't help his draft stock at all. Still, it appears he's hiding something.

In answer to your question, Gerhart's shuttle was disappointing (4.25) and 3 Cone was adequate (6.94)

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Funny you say that, because so far Spiller has refused to perform a shuttle or 3-Cone for scouts. There's been no mention of an injury, but I have a feeling he's not running them because in his Combine prep he wasn't putting up very good times.

Now, everybody who's watched Spiller return punts knows he's shifty. And it's true that those drills probably couldn't help his draft stock at all. Still, it appears he's hiding something.

In answer to your question, Gerhart's shuttle was disappointing (4.25) and 3 Cone was adequate (6.94)

I agree he is not running them because he is not putting up good times in those drills, but I think the reason is because his turf toe is not fully healed. I think that the closer we get to the draft, the more whispers you will hear about him needing surgery to fix it. He played all last year on it and probably did some extensive damage.

If this is true, then NFL teams need to figure out if he can survive on it his entire rookie season and then have surgery.

 

[patsinthesnow]

If your line isn't opening holes, why do you want a bigger, slower RB trying to get through those non-holes? You think it will get easier to block between the tackles when the defense doesn't have to worry about any runs outside the hashmarks?

If you want to upgrade Maroney, at least get a threat that keeps safeties on their heels and linebackers from crashing inside.

BTW, Maroney is 25 yo. Shonn Greene (the present and future of the Jets) is 6 months younger. Methinks there might be time for young Laurence to yet reach his potential.

He's entering year 5..........his ceiling has been reached.

 

[HarkDawg]

Maroney era will soon be over......


c'mon Shanahan...... give us a call and proposal

 

[Defsoul]

Give me a big guy with some wiggle. A guy like Anthony Dixon was asked to make defenders miss in the backfield on a constant base because his O-Line lacked talent. A guy like Hardesty also has the wiggle to make a defender miss. You don't need that break away speed if you can make a defender miss in the phone booth and run threw armtackles. That's how gain 20+ yards.