Jamie Harper

That statement was not absurd. Everywhere Neal has gone, the RB has benefited tremendously.

 

He hasn't showed me too much. It's not far fetched for me to see someone like Harper coming in and passing him on the depth chart. Ringer is just mediocre in all facets of the game: decent speed, decent moves, decent power, decent hands. Harper has the body type and strength that could make him an actual addition to the team instead of just another guy to carry the ball when CJ is tired. I'm not anointing by any means, I'm just saying that Ringer isn't that great and Harper looks like he could be good enough to be a solid power back behind someone like CJ. Running backs are the types of players that can come in and contribute immediately. That's something I'd like to see. Hopefully at some point we have camp and OTAs.

 

I agree.

The RB position is one of the most instinctive positions on the field. You either have the instincts or you don't. I think Ringer is just ok. I think he's a 3rd string RB. He can't break a lot of tackles, he's not fast enough to be a pitch or stretch threat, and he's not powerful enough to be an inside runner. He's simply a back that can spell other backs when tired. There's 1,000 backs like him in the league.

 

You are trying to argue that Eddie's decline was due in part to the departure of Neal. And that is just not anywhere near accurate and yes, it is an absurd statement.

The Titans rarely used the I backfield in comparison to one back sets. We used one back sets a hell of a lot more than we ever ran the I during the Eddie George days. I'm talking about 25 -30% if running plays was Neal ever on the field.

Neal was a great lead blocker, but he had nothing to do with Eddie losing his balance and speed. We drove Eddie into the ground with the amount of carries he had.

 

Harper looks like our new 3rd down back. He looks like he has good 3rd down skills. I think this says a lot about CJ's 3rd down value.

 

If CJ didn't have stone fingers then we wouldn't need Harper.

 

i dont know if i can trust a guy named Harper.

 

He's got over 1000 yards receiving in three years at RB... that's not terrible ball catching production. He also got missed on a lot of wide open chances in the flat because VY never could hit that short pass in the backfield for some reason

 

He actually led the team in receptions one year too...His hands are pretty average in my opinion.

 

Teams don't use a FB who can't block at all. But many do use one (when they even bother) who is less of a pure lead blocker and more of a hybrid blocker/receiver. Or even a guy who can carry the ball as well, like a LeRon McClain.

If the Titans use Harper as a FB, it will be because he's a receiving threat out of the backfield as well as a capable blocker (and runner). We'll just have to wait and see.