*****The Darwin Thompson Thread*****

[Dante84]

[UChieffyBugger]

Originally Posted by O.city

Yeah, I was bullish on Hunt because he lacked the true breakaway speed, so i'm not doing that again.

I don't think it matters as much in the grand scheme of things. Give me the guy that can break tackles and has great vision. If he's not an Olympic sprinter, who cares.

It is weird to see a #25 RB out there. He def doesn't have that Charles speed or balance but ****, who does?

If you watch Thompson's tape he busted three or four runs from deep and took it to the house with DB's trailing behind. I honestly think he can do that in this league as well.

[UChieffyBugger]

Just been looking at a few of DT's individual performances in college and just check out THIS clip. Especially from 3:56 onwards where you see how devastating he can be once he gets going. He's gonna be a nightmare to deal with because he has a weird combination of being very strong yet small, fast, agile and elusive. Barry Sanders made full use of those same exact skills, we'll see if Thompson can too.

[FAX]

I derive hope from the fact that NFL football is a game of matchups. There are certain guys (Kelce comes to mind) who are simply tough matchups against every flavor of defensive position ... too fast (or shifty) for LBs ... too big for corners and safeties ... etc.

So I think in terms of how you get Ja'Small matched up against LBs in coverage. We saw an example in that first pre-season game ... the QB just has to lead him like you're shooting super-quail as he either crosses through zone coverage or gets isolated in the flat in man-to-man.

In either or both of those situations, the odds are in Ja'Small's favor. The fact that he is willing to run between the tackles is a plus since the enemy will have to respect the possibility that he will. However, that's not his highest and best use.

Wally just needs to scheme him against LBs. Especially after we've run their asses all over the field for 2 or 3 quarters. He just might be another Hillesque nightmare in those situations since he appears to have excellent hands.

FAX

[TLO]

Originally Posted by TinyEvel

A friggen RB? WTF? Best player available? Derrel and Damien weren't enough?

Originally Posted by Titty Meat

He'll get cut in 2 years

Originally Posted by Dante84

DAT?

Woof. That's 3 out of the first 4 posts in the thread.

[UChieffyBugger]

Originally Posted by FAX

I derive hope from the fact that NFL football is a game of matchups. There are certain guys (Kelce comes to mind) who are simply tough matchups against every flavor of defensive position ... too fast (or shifty) for LBs ... too big for corners and safeties ... etc.

So I think in terms of how you get Ja'Small matched up against LBs in coverage. We saw an example in that first pre-season game ... the QB just has to lead him like you're shooting super-quail as he either crosses through zone coverage or gets isolated in the flat in man-to-man.

In either or both of those situations, the odds are in Ja'Small's favor. The fact that he is willing to run between the tackles is a plus since the enemy will have to respect the possibility that he will. However, that's not his highest and best use.

Wally just needs to scheme him against LBs. Especially after we've run their asses all over the field for 2 or 3 quarters. He just might be another Hillesque nightmare in those situations since he appears to have excellent hands.

FAX

And this is where I disagree because imo Darwin has that rare talent that allows him to identify small holes and burst through very quickly. He does it in the video I posted above and also at 5:00 HERE so we shouldn't just assume that because he's a smaller RB that he can't be super effective between the tackles because his college tape proved otherwise. And this is what makes him unique because he's a smaller back who not only runs between the tackles but he's one who has a lot of success too. And with the Chiefs most likely facing light boxes this season then why not let the kid roam free?

[FAX]

To be clear, I'm not saying he can't do it ... he's actually proven that he has the desire and, from time to time, he'll probably get you some yards and move the chains.

I'm saying that's not the best use of his natural skills. Instead, I say, let a bigger guy take that punishment. After all, the NFL isn't college football and the Stoolers defense is not BYU.

Use him in a way that plays to his strengths and talents. Match him up on a backer and let him use his quickness and speed against a clumsier and slower man.

FAX

[UChieffyBugger]

Originally Posted by FAX

To be clear, I'm not saying he can't do it ... he's actually proven that he has the desire and, from time to time, he'll probably get you some yards and move the chains.

I'm saying that's not the best use of his natural skills. Instead, I say, let a bigger guy take that punishment. After all, the NFL isn't college football and the Stoolers defense is not BYU.

Use him in a way that plays to his strengths and talents. Match him up on a backer and let him use his quickness and speed against a clumsier and slower man.

FAX

What I'd say to that is Andy doesn't run the ball a whole bunch anyway does he? So none of our backs are gonna be used as a "bellcow". Therefore if Darwin becomes the starter he'd only be running the ball maybe ten times per game and his other work would be catching the ball. This is how he used Williams last season and I think Darwin can do that effectively tbh.

[WhiteWhale]

I stand by my preemptive comments.

Steal of the draft. Andy did it AGAIN.

[WhiteWhale]

Originally Posted by UChieffyBugger

What I'd say to that is Andy doesn't run the ball a whole bunch anyway does he? So none of our backs are gonna be used as a "bellcow". Therefore if Darwin becomes the starter he'd only be running the ball maybe ten times per game and his other work would be catching the ball. This is how he used Williams last season and I think Darwin can do that effectively tbh.

Andy's RB's always produce. He'll talk about committee but he'll EVENTUALLY give someone the bulk of the touches. He always does. And his RB's ALWAYS produce while somehow also always feeling underutilized.

Damien Williams better stay healthy. First injury and he's full time back up. Balance. Burst. Speed. Adequate vision.

He'll be good, but can he stay healthy? Can he HOLD ONTO THE BALL? People kinda overlook that Kareem Hunt fumbled on his first touch and then didn't fumble again. Ever. Which is pretty crazy. I don't think he fumbled in college and he played a TON.

You can't rely to heavily on guys who can't stay healthy or hold onto the ball, but this kid can run.

[UChieffyBugger]

Originally Posted by WhiteWhale

Andy's RB's always produce. He'll talk about committee but he'll EVENTUALLY give someone the bulk of the touches. He always does. And his RB's ALWAYS produce while somehow also always feeling underutilized.

Damien Williams better stay healthy. First injury and he's full time back up. Balance. Burst. Speed. Adequate vision.

He'll be good, but can he stay healthy? Can he HOLD ONTO THE BALL? People kinda overlook that Kareem Hunt fumbled on his first touch and then didn't fumble again. Ever. Which is pretty crazy. I don't think he fumbled in college and he played a TON.

You can't rely to heavily on guys who can't stay healthy or hold onto the ball, but this kid can run.

Darwin only fumbled once last apparently.

[MAHOMO 4 LIFE!]

Damien is a really good RB. He produced in the playoffs. Just stay healthy is all

[JakeF]

Thompson 4th on latest depth chart released.

[Hoover]

Here is all you need to know about the RB position in the NFL.

And it backs up my belief in not giving second contracts to ANY running back.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features...sily-replaced/

Sorry, Running Backs. Even Your Receiving Value Can Be Easily Replaced.

Running backs in the NFL don’t have the value they once did. The five highest-paid running backs this season will make 93 percent of what the five highest-paid RBs were paid in 2011, based on their collective salary cap charges each year according to Spotrac. The five highest-paid quarterbacks of 2019, meanwhile, are making 185 percent of their 2011 counterparts.1

But top backs like Le’Veon Bell, who sat out the entire 2018 season over a contract dispute with the Steelers, and current holdout Ezekiel Elliott, who hauled in 77 passes last year, may be hoping to reestablish value at the position with their receiving ability. By leaning into a more pass-happy league, running backs like these two, the Panthers’ Christian McCaffrey (107 receptions in 2018) and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, the New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley (91 receptions), are leading a receiving revolution at the position.

But despite the exploits of the most prolific receiving backs last year, running back targets as a share of all passes are not significantly increasing. Teams are just throwing to everyone more often. Last year, 20.2 percent of passes were targeted at running backs, which is in line with the 2001-to-2017 average of 19.5 percent. The same is true if we look at the market share of passing yards: 18 percent last year compared with 17.5 from 2001 to 2017.

And unless you’re playing fantasy football, judging receiving ability by the number of catches and receiving yards is a poor way to measure this skill. A checkdown to a running back who gains 12 yards on third-and-15 is great for your fantasy team, but it doesn’t do much to improve an actual team’s chances of winning a game.

A more accurate — but still imperfect — gauge of the receiving value of a running back is the added value of the plays in which he is a receiver.2 We can use a team’s success rate on those plays — whether the play resulted in positive expected points added — to see more clearly that not all running back catches and yards are created equal.

Last year, NFL backs registered successful plays on 1,663 of 3,572 receiving targets, a rate of 46.6 percent, according to ESPN Stats & Information Group. Elliott and Barkley were the top two rushers in the league last season, but they were below-average receivers for their position by this metric, posting respective success rates of 36.1 and 40.3 percent on passes thrown to them. The Cowboys and Giants ranked 31st and 26th, respectively, in overall success rates on those plays. When their quarterbacks threw to Elliott and Barkley, they typically weren’t increasing their probability of scoring points — they were worsening it.

Whether it’s scheme, blocking or the ability of the running backs themselves, some teams are just better at this play-call than others. Comparing overall success rates, we can see a wide range of effectiveness across the league in 2018 when throwing to the RBs.

No team threw to its RBs more than the Patriots, and it obviously worked out OK for them. But that doesn’t mean the Patriots were the best at it — that honor belongs to the AFC runner-up Kansas City Chiefs, who recorded a success rate of 62.6 percent on these throws. The next best team on passes to running backs, the Panthers, posted a success rate of 54.5 percent. In fact, the difference in success rate, 8.1 percentage points, between the best and second-most effective teams — the Chiefs and Panthers — is the same as the difference between the Panthers and the Packers, the 15th-best team at this play.

Despite their high proficiency on such throws, the Chiefs were just 23rd in the share of passes targeted to running backs, though it’s hard to criticize them for not throwing enough to RBs given that they had one of the most explosive offenses in NFL history. And the Chiefs didn’t rely on any one running back for that success: Targets to each of the Chiefs’ primary backs last season — Kareem Hunt, Spencer Ware and Damien Williams — had a success rate of at least 59.5 percent.

This raises a problem for the star running backs trying to prove their worth this season. Because the expected points added on a given play are owned by everyone involved, it would be hard for a running back to claim success rate on targets as his own.

For example, Melvin Gordon is holding out from the Chargers for a new contract — one that would pay him for being more than just a runner. He would reasonably be able to point to the 50.8 percent play success on his 61 targets in 2018. The trouble is that the other top Charger backs, Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson, were each part of a higher share of successful pass plays than Gordon was, averaging a success rate of 54.2 percent.

Standing out as receivers may be the best chance for running backs trying to get around the depressed salaries at their position. But even with their contributions to the passing game, it still might be a challenge for these RBs to prove that their receiving value also isn’t easily replaced.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

We suffered for years during the Donnell Bennett Era. I don't ever want to be there again.

We've had a good run of backs for a long time now.

[O.city]

Yeah, you've gotta be a weapon catching it for me to even contemplate a significant salary. I probably still wouldn't do it, it's just to easy to find someone that's at worst adequate, but if you can add a Mcaffrey to an offense, it is really helpful.

Especially if you have an innovative HC and a smart QB.