Adrian Peterson

rich4eagle

I never said it was harder to find a running back than a franchise QB.........I have maintained for decades that it is the key position and hardest to fill with true franchise greatness,,,,,,,,,so I been way ahead of Shep on that concept since I am older than him

but I am saying after QB RB is next most precious position

BTW I am confident Willie Green would have turned the seven blocks of granite.........into seven piles of mush

? Masters

CAR has 2 1st round picks on their Oline. 4 of their guys up front are first day draft picks. CAR gets it.

Kosarfan

Makes one wonder if Jamal Lewis is spent or just a product of the same line that kept every QB we had in this year, against the ropes. Some scrambled better (BQ vs. DA) knowing that they HAD based on the way our OL effectivity. JL seemed to fade nearly halfway through the season, getting an occasional breakout run. How would JL do with Minnesota's line ? does he still have a fair amount of steam left ?

Pumpkin Eater

Masters said:
CAR has 2 1st round picks on their Oline. 4 of their guys up front are first day draft picks. CAR gets it.

Inlcuding a couple second rounders if I'm not mistaken.

? Masters

@pumpkin-eater said:
Inlcuding a couple second rounders if I'm not mistaken.

2 1st rounders, 1 second rounder, and 1 3rd rounder. The fifth guy is a 5th rounder.

? mz.

Sounds like a bunch of dime-a-dozen stiffs on that CAR O-line to me.

In comparison, we have one 1st rounder (Thomas), one 2nd rounder (Steinbach), one 3rd rounder (McKinney), one 4th rounder (Tucker), one 6th rounder (Hadnot) and one UDFA (Fraley).

Both CAR and CLE both currently have #1 picks running the ball. So maybe what we need is MORE highly-drafted O-linemen, rich.

? mz.

@inspecta said:
However when that truly special RB comes along then you gotta pull the trigger and get him. Peterson is clearly that type of RB.

I'm torn on the entire matter, but these following guys were also deemed special.

Blair Thomas, RB, Penn State (2nd overall, Jets, 1990)

Ki-Jana Carter, RB, Penn State (1st overall, Bengals, 1995)

Lawrence Phillips, RB, Nebraska (6th overall, Rams, 1996)

And that just scratches the surface, really. Salaam, Enis.............

This excellent Sporting News article, though from 2001, is a very good read on the matter.

College running backs have become increasingly difficult to evaluate, project and develop. Hence, drafting one in the first round has become as risky as putting all your eggs in the technology stock basket. Since 1995, 21 running backs have been taken in the first round. Thirteen of those (or 62 percent) have been certifiable busts or have failed to live up to expectations.
There are three basic problems with drafting running backs high: Their college production is not always an accurate indicator of their pro capabilities; durability is difficult to predict, and NFL teams tend to give up quickly on running backs in the course of games, seasons and careers.

It's hard to understand, for instance, how Rashaan Salaam could rush for more yards in one season at Colorado than he did in his NFL .career or why Ron Dayne went from a 6.0-yard average per carry last season at Wisconsin to a 3.4 this year with the Giants.

Pumpkin Eater

Offensive linemen have been deemed the safest first round pick.

? Ghoolie

Masters said:
And runs behind a line loaded with high paid, high drafted OL men. A team that had a 1,200 yard back in Taylor behind that same line.
AP is a great talent, but give him no holes to run through, and he does nothing. He ain't Barry Sanders.

The Vikings line isn't that good. Theiy couldn't keep their QB from getting roughed up.

Running backs make the OL, not the other way around.

This issue is NOT that an OL is not important, the issue is, successful teams usually use 8 - 12 OL in the course of a year. The point is, competent OL are pretty easy to find. Spending what we did on JT was shit-headed. AP would have delivered much more results than fatass.

? Masters

@ghoolie said:
The Vikings line isn't that good. Theiy couldn't keep their QB from getting roughed up.
Running backs make the OL, not the other way around.

This issue is NOT that an OL is not important, the issue is, successful teams usually use 8 - 12 OL in the course of a year. The point is, competent OL are pretty easy to find. Spending what we did on JT was shit-headed. AP would have delivered much more results than fatass.

Isn't that running game supposed to allow him time? The fear of the run? Of course when you look past AP's 40 yard run, he pretty much got shut down big time by Philly (19 carries 43 yards).

The Vikings line is actually very good. That's why they were already running up the rushing yards before drafting AP.

I wouldn't even call Tavaris Jackson a QB. But he was hardly roughed up. Unless your definition of roughed up is being sacked ONE time.

Dude, teams don't even keep 8 OL on their roster. Teams only go through that many if they are decimated by injury. Good OL guys are not that easy to find. If they were, why would teams (including 11 of the 12 playoff teams) use first round draft picks on them?

Spending what CLE did on Thomas is a smart move, just like when BALT draft Ogden and STL with Pace. You took a guy who is gonna be a staple of your line for the next 12 years (and likely going to the pro bowl for all of those years). Sure CLE would have had AP. But is a .500 record and looking like ass in the playoffs your idea of delivering results?