Chris Johnson....

Skip Hicks ran for 142-yards once upon a time, with 8.4 ypc & a TD with Tennessee when Eddie couldn't get going vs the Packers in 2001. So obviously we know how to pick RB's.

 

Chris Henry was never a starter. Chris Henry was a Reinfeldt brainfart, and Fisher knew better than to start him.

And like you said, Lendale got over 1,000 yards. When he was put in a pivotal role, he succeeded.

I didn't say everyone who starts becomes a HOFer, but all of them succeed with the Titans. I pointed out the Chris Brown Example.

 

70 yards a game for a starting back is not really all that good. If you get as many carries as White did and you don't get 1,000 yards you have no place carrying the ball in the NFL.

 

I totally agree Soxcat. QB is just such a more important position than RB. People look at CJ and all they see is the fact that we have one of the best backs in the league. While disregarding the fact that it's not anywhere close to the most important position for success. And it's also one of the most easily replaceable positions in football. You probably won't find another CJ but if you have a good line then you can typically run the ball well. How many times do you see good backs go down and the team plugs in the next guy and chugs right along? I see it multiple times a season.

And as you said, the lifespan of a QB is so much longer than that of an RB. Nobody wants to admit or even think about it... but the truth is CJ isn't going to have many good years left in him if we keep running him like he's Eddie George.

I wouldn't trade CJ for a pile of beans. But if someone was offering max value or close to it, you gotta at least consider it IMO.

Ummm... the draft? And Ringer is a good back. He's not a feature back but pair him with a solid rookie or FA and I think we have a pretty good backfield. You really don't NEED a superstar RB these days. Sure they're nice to have but certainly not necessary for success.

This is a team that got a thousand yard season out of (the Patron era) Lendale White. You're acting like we wouldn't be able to move the football without CJ which is simply not true.

 

70 yards per game average is good. Almost nobody averages 100 yards per game.
3.7 YPC is not that bad. Most teams would take a RB with 1000+ yards and 3.7 YPC. That is not a bad season, no matter how you spin it. That is MUCH better than Eddie's season in 2001-02, and that wasn't the end of EG's career.

There has not been an unproductive starting RB in the Titans' short history thus far.

If that is the worst example of a Titan starting RB you can find, then I think that says a lot about the point.

 

So you want to go with a rookie quarterback AND a rookie runningback. That's a recipe for disaster. (I haven't read the whole thread, so I'm assuming that's what you're proposing)

Say we don't hit on the QB draft pick, which odds are we won't, then we're out the best back in the league and have taken at least one step backwards.

We've seen that the last two years without Johnson on the field for a few plays at a time. The offense has gone dead with Ringer and White on the field more times than not.

 

No, not at all. I said pair Ringer with a solid FA and/or rookie and I believe we have a pretty good backfield. I'm not proposing we draft a rookie RB and start him. I'm not even proposing we start the rookie QB. I wouldn't mind bringing in another vet to take the reigns while the rookie sits a year.

I'm thinking grand scheme here, bigtitan. Not what's best for our 2011 record. There's no doubt in my mind our record would be better next season with VY and CJ than it would with a rookie QB and platoon backfield. But if they aren't going to get us to a Super Bowl then what's the point? Sometimes you have to take a step back for a year or two before you can take that giant leap forward.

If you're going to debate me you should probably read my posts. :wink2:

I'm not even saying we should definitely trade CJ. Only that I'd listen to the right offer. The idea of trading him isn't nearly as preposterous as some of you are making it out to be.

That's the spirit! :ha:

Seriously, this is the same attitude some people (you included, I believe) have about Jeff Fisher. "B-b-but what if we mess up and end up with a WORSE coach?!?"

I suppose I can see where the thought comes from. But you either have to be satisfied with "just okay" or be willing to take the chance at potential improvement. You can't let the fear of missing scare you away from taking a shot. If the Ravens let that scare them off they wouldn't have Joe Flacco right now. The Falcons wouldn't have Matt Ryan. So on and so forth. So Vince didn't turn out exactly the way everyone wanted him to. That's no reason to be afraid of taking another crack at it.

What would you propose? Stick with Vince even if the FO has no faith in him? Continue to pick up "serviceable vets"? We aren't going to win a Super Bowl with another team's over the hill trash QB. If we want to reap the rewards of an elite QB we're going to have to take a stab at another at some point. Unless we get amazingly lucky and end up snagging the next Tom Brady in the late rounds (maybe we already did with Rusty ).

Do you think CJ is gonna put the team on his back and run us to a Lombardi trophy? I don't.

 

I respect your opinions a lot TJ but I don't know if I totally buy that. I don't think this offense is a whole heck of a lot different than it's ever been. We still flat out refuse to use CJ creatively, aside from an occasional option (which seems to be more about utilizing Vince's unique skill set than CJ's). It's not like we call a lot of plays that only CJ can run. And considering he's not really hitting the home runs this year and tied for 19th in the league in YPC, I don't really see why things would have to be all that different, from a schematic standpoint, with another RB in there.

 

Not at all. The odds are so against picking the right quarterback at the top of the draft that trading one of the transcendent players at his position just to take that gamble doesn't make sense in my mind.

I think we'd be better off keeping CJ and trading a second rounder to Philly for Kolb rather than trade CJ for a draft pick or two just to maybe make an upgrade at QB and definitely take a step back in the backfield.