Best pass catching back out of the backfield in the TB/BB era?

[PATSYLICIOUS]

And as much as i love woodhead, it was the right call at the time to let him walk. Vereen looked like a stud in the making after 2012, although he was pretty good for us afterward he didnt quite reach that expectation. But i think it was worth it to have the slight downgrade from woody the next couple seasons with the possibilty of having a total gamebreaker at Rb which shane flashed quite a bit of in 2012.

 

[Bourne Again Christian]

Disagree woodhead was much better out the backfield than Vareen

 

[Bourne Again Christian]

People on this board discussed how he struggled running the ball Vareen and were surprised the Giants paid so much for Shane

 

[RobertWeathers]

It really is an embarrassment of riches to have such a lineage of very good players in that role.

However....

No dis to KFaulk - who is the better all-around, more accomplished player but as a receiver I'd have to take James White as a pure receiver by a hair. There is just a smoothness to his game.

Hes smoother than Woody, DLew and Shane.

Either way, the discussion is a classic splitting of hairs.

Its like who is hotter Allesandra Ambrosia or Gisele....

 

[Biffins]

To me it's Woodhead. He was simply the most dominant and the best and continues to be underrated because of his size. Faulk had longevity with Patriots but Woodhead has had longevity in his career as well and continued to do well at Chargers.

Infact we are frankly still scarred by the Woodhead experience. The amount of 3rd and 15, or 3rd and 20, or 3rd and 25 .... basically 3rd and hopelessly long, screens that Woodhead converted to a first down has left us permanently delusional about the success rate of this play and every time we are in a position of 3rd and more than 10 yards I know we're going to do a screen to the halfback and I know it's not going to work since it's not Woodhead.

Woodhead was AWESOME.

 

[JarOfMayo51]

Have to go Vereen. He ran routes like a wide receiver and was targeted deeper down the field more than our other backs.

Vereen had like 1 and a half productive seasons total... and he hasn't been anything special on the Giants, he just managed to put his best season together on the final year of his deal

I liked Vereen and he was a talented runner, but he couldn't hold Faulk's jock strap as far as impact to the team

 

[Bobsyouruncle]

Who's the best QB in the Kevin Faulk era?

 

[JPsPats]

While they were all pass catchers, they all had something unique about them.

Faulk - Mr. Reliable, can't recall him missing much time in his stint here, and once he got over his early fumbles you always felt calm when he was on the field.

Lewis - Mr. Shake and bake, his moves left multiple defenders in the dust

Vereen - Mr. Deep, he was the best out of these backs going for deep passes and hauling them in.

Woodhead - Mr. Everything, Danny was not only a great pass catcher, but he ran the ball the most effective, could block, and I believe returned punts too.

White - Mr. Consistent, never really got tackled for a loss, breaks tackles, and is so consistent catching the ball. You don't break a Super Bowl record for most catches without having consistency throughout the game.

 

[RayClay]

No sarcasm: this is a great topic. Looking forward to the discussion.

My natural response was Faulk but as much as I love him, he did have significant fumbling issues early on in his career.

Is it crazy to answer White here?

Ok... Faulk.

It's only a year or two, but White is a relaxed, natural receiver. He needs to find a way as a RB. Faulk had that quick elusiveness on draw plays, but White is as good, or better that Faulk and Vereen as a receiver.

Lewis has something special as a RB that no one can touch IMO. I mean no one in the league.

 

[bbobbo]

white's zero fumbles and low 3.7 ypc average must be related. i.e., he doesn't fight for extra yards, so there's a much lower possibility of a defender punching or ripping the ball out from him. maybe it keeps him healthier, too, since he avoids the big hits.

 

[holyredeemer]

Interesting. I hadn't heard that the Pats had made Woody an offer and he was about to take it just as SD was calling his agent. Too bad that they didn't wait another day before calling. I don't think that the difference in offers was that great anyway, but it does seem that he was going to take the somewhat larger offer and start another adventure with the Chargers. I stand corrected.

Ya, man. Everything reported was it was on the Pats end, and then i read that. I had to read it again just to make sure I read it right.

 

[patsinthesnow]

2015 Dion Lewis was our first "special" player at RB since Corey Dillon.

Woodhead is the rare Patriot to improve after leaving the team. His 2015 season with the Chargers was awesome.

Kevin Faulk had the longest tenure here and was a model of consistency.

White & Vereen were the most "pure receiver" out of the 5 RBs. Neither offer much at all in the run game but both came up big in SB victories.


Talent rankings

1. 2015 Dion
2. Woodhead
3. Faulk
4. White*
5. Vereen

*White's route running keeps improving. He also showed a little running ability last season. He has the ability to move up the list.

Nice thread topic

 

[ChessToCheckers]

I don't know how to measure talent, but as far as value to the team (EG: durability, ball security, pass protection, and offensive production) I'd rate the top five thusly:

1. Faulk
2. Woodhead
3. White
4. Vereen
5. Lewis

That we currently have 2 of 5 (White and Lewis) together is really great going into 2017! IMO, if White continues on his current path and plays 5 more years for us, he'll eclipse Faulk. If Lewis fully recovers to 2015 form, learns to take care of the ball, and stays healthy for a few years, he could eclipse them all!

How great is that!

 

[sieglo]

To this day I wonder why they let him walk for so little (they were paying Kevin Faulk $3M a year when the cap was significantly lower).

Racism!

 

[Ivan]

Kevin Faulk, no one made more big plays per touch. I like all of them but would put White second and Vereen third as far as receiving backs go, Lewis is the best runner of the group and I think we will see him back to normal if not better next season. ACL injuries alway take another year to fully recover from.

 

[zoostation]

Why the Faulk do we even need to poll this?

 

[FCB02062]

JR Redmond

 

[fnordcircle]

Pre-injury Dion Lewis.

 

[Deus Irae]

Who you got?

Kevin Faulk
Danny Woodhead
Shane Vereen
Dion Lewis
James White

1. Woodhead
2. Faulk
3. Lewis
4. Vereen
5. White

I chose to rate them as overall backs playing the 3DRB role. I'd flip Woodhead and Faulk if the O.P.'s intended emphasis was meant to be significantly weighted to the pass, and pass blocking, over the running aspects of the position. Lewis and White are still writing their stories, so their positions can certainly change.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

To the best of my recollection Lewis had the best half season I have seen a pass catching back have in the BB era. That first half 2015 Lewis was singular in how lethal he was with the ball in the flat with a few yards of open area. Unfortunately due to injury Lewis' sample is too small.

Recent ones such as Vereen contributed a lot once he made the jump and wasn't injured. Woodhead was not far behind. Woody was consistent and durable. White's sample is too small but I suspect he will match if not surpass Vereen-Woodhead type consistency (White might be the new Faulk). There have been some others before that through the 2000's. But no doubt based on contribution length and consistency the winner is Kevin Faulk hands down. Faulk gets less mentions but he was a valuable member of that Bruschi, Brown, McGinest era.