Sign these 3 guys and end all this WR/RB talk?

Discussion in 'NFL Draft' started by RollTide, Jan 7, 2008.

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  1. DLS33

    DLS33 Guest

    Jan 7 Reuben Frank, of PhillyBurbs.com, reports Philadelphia Eagles general manager Tom Heckert said the Eagles will consider placing the franchise tag on impending free-agent TE L.J. Smith.

    Talk to Reuben Frank not me
     
  2. TitanJeff

    TitanJeff Kahuna Grande Staff

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    You want to judge the guy by some numbers from Northern Illinois?

    I didn't say not to look at college stats. I did say White had proven more since he has performed at a high level in the NFL. He performed extremely well against much better teams at the college level too.

    The man has tons of potential. But, right now, it's only that. I don't assume he's an upgrade to White who has proven he can get it done and, according to some articles I've read, vows to come to camp next year in much better shape ready to take his game to the next level.

    By who's standards? Define great for me as far as a RB in THIS scheme where he faced eight men in the box almost all the time and had little in the way of a passing game to ease the load.

    This it typical "grass is greener" talk where every free agent and draft pick appears to be better than a guy already on our roster.

    His name is Henry. He'll be the #2 next season and, most likely, beyond.

    Anywhere Turner goes, he'll be the #1. He'll get 300+ touches which means White goes to the role of a short-yardage back and gets maybe 10-15 carries a game. He's too good for that kind of role and, honestly, gets paid too much to be limited to that.

    Same for Henry. You don't pay big money for second-round draft picks to take a handful of snaps a game in his second season and beyond.
     
  3. DLS33

    DLS33 Guest

    TitansJeff, I agree and disagree.. This is my take on LenDale.. He had 303 carries for 1110 yards 7 TDS and averaged 3.7 yards a carry. And you stated this is a great year for a running back in our scheme.. Incorrect, our scheme is to control the clock with running and pounding the rock.. 3.7 yards a carry is where I direct my attention to.(and the fact that of the 303 carries he received his LONGEST run was 15 yards). Now your telling me that a guy like Turner would not be a boost for our offense? Lendale runs about a 4.7 tops and Turner is more like a 4.4.. Speed would do this team some good. And as far as Henry is concerned, that may have been the worst draft pick of last year, considering the round and caliber player he was in college. I am not saying LenDale sucks, because I was a LenDale hater before the year.. I think he would be more suited for redzone and 3rd down or short yardage carries.. Thats just my take.. I don't claim to be a genius, just a concerned fan..
     
  4. Sannyasin

    Sannyasin Guest

    My point was that the guy is pretty darn good or the Eagles wouldn't even be considering franchise tagging him. This is in contrast to all the people errantly dissing him on here.
     
  5. TitanJeff

    TitanJeff Kahuna Grande Staff

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    The reason I say White was successful in this offense is that the goal of it is to move the chains and take as much time as possible (assuming the team is not behind). If it takes three downs to get a first, that's ideal even though it leaves little margin for error.

    White won't bust you 15+ yard carries but he also rarely goes down for losses. He is consistent. And that means Fisher knows he'll usually get 3-4 yards every time he touches the ball. It plays into his scheme well.

    I'm not saying Turner couldn't do the same. However, we know White can and the jury is out on Turner.


    Would I take Turner over Henry? Of course. But I'm not crazy to think the Titans are going to give up on Henry after one season after investing so much in him. And I am not ready to deem Henry a bust after one season.

    Bottom line: they will not get rid of Henry and they have too many issues in other positions to afford to bring in Turner.
     
  6. Bobo

    Bobo Guest


    First and foremost, I'm saying LW has not proven a lot more than MT. You say it's a lot more just because he had one average season with 300 touches, I say it's closer to negligible than the way you're making it sound.

    Yes Turner is a bit of a gamble because he's not carried a load to prove himself. I'm not making any guarantees about him.

    We had 8 man fronts a lot with Travis Henry in the backfield. Not only did he put up better numbers, but to my eye he's a better back. I never implied the grass is greener with any back. I know a guy like Bush or another scat back isn't best for THIS system. I'm talking about other big, powerful guys....but with one big advantage....speed.

    I doubt Brown will be back next year. So what do we do about a #3? We actually could go with a smaller speed back for Chow to maybe do some old Reggie Bush type scheming with. On the other hand, we may be able to find a long term upgrade over LW. It may be Turner.

    If I had to guess, I'd guess they will leave the brunt of the duty to LW and CH next year....doesn't mean I have a lot of confidence in that game plan. LW is average. CH may improve, but he's risky too.

    The draft is stacked at RB, who's to say Turner will get #1 money for sure? He didn't elevate his stock this year, and I think he may come for less than you think. We have priorities over him for sure, but if he can be had at a decent price, I'd try it.
     
  7. Ubiq

    Ubiq BAMF

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    This is what I don't understand. LONG TERM UPGRADE. Guys, seriously, is LenDale White our franchise back? Doubt it. We are known for running the ball. Defenses know week in and week out that we will hit them hard on the ground. I just can't figure out why we don't invest a #1 pick in a back that will pound out 1300-1400+ yards and 12-14+ scores on a yearly basis. Hell, I just want to see a back break a run of 20+ yards more than once a season. If anyone thinks Chris Henry was that pick then they are sadly mistaken.

    I think we'll deal one of our first 2 picks for a WR (Roy Williams). Where do we go from there? I think a RB has to be seriously considered.

    Send Pacman, 2008 2nd, 2009 4th to DET for Roy Williams & Shaun Rogers.

    1st pick: Rashard Mendenhall (Bred for our system, seriously)
    2nd pick: DET
    3rd pick: Martin Rucker/Jacob Tamme
    4th pick: Wesley Woodyard (Projected to be a SS in the NFL, and who knows if Hope will return to form) OR best DE available (Jason Jones/Chris Harrington)
     
  8. Soxcat

    Soxcat Pro Bowler

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    You make some very good points.
    1. All RBs are a "gamble" when you pay them big bucks. Even a proven workhorse like Eddie can stub his toe right after he gets the contract. Turner doesn't have the wear and tear of a guy who has been in the league for 4 years so IMO the gamble is worth taking. He has run the ball enough to know he isn't injury prone.
    2. No way Turner is going to get paid like an elite back in this league. If he does then we shouldn't be the team paying him. If we can sign him for around 4 mil a year we shouldn't hesitate IMO.
    3. IMO Turner gives us what Chris Brown gave us but certainly Turner isn't going to be that injury prone. The guy is built like a brick S&*^ house. The kid is 5'10, 237 pounds and fast. That is what we need when we are in the red zone. LW might be decent inside the 5 but if you notice we were going to Brown outside the 5 because he can give you a TD from 7-15 yards out. LW simply can't do that or have the speed to break around the end.
    4. No way I go into the season depending on Henry. IMO Henry should learn the passing part of the game catching passes and running draws. He is simply too inconsistent if we need him to be the feature back. He can help us catching balls out of the back field.
    5. The way I see Turner is he is what you would get if you had LW's instincts and Henry's speed. We need a back who can occasionally bust the long run. Our offense needs playmakers. We had that last year with T. Henry and we need it next year if we want to be an improved team. It is hard enough to score TDs now nickle and diming our way down field. TJeff's comments about LW rarely taking a loss and being consistent makes sense if we are talking about replacing White with a little scat back but Turner is 237 pounds. He doesn't get tackled for losses either and when he has a hole to burst through he can get the team into scoring range in one play. controlling the clock works if you also score points. If you can't score you simply lose.
     
  9. DLS33

    DLS33 Guest



    Listen, your point is well taken.. I think our OL is good enough to produce a 1300-1400 yard back year in year out. Now if you disagree you are sadly mistaken. I agree with Ubiq in the sense that Mendenhall would be a legit pick. Who cares what we have invested in Chris Henry(i dont cosider one year a very high investment, especially when he was only active 8 or 9 games). I think that we are in dire need of a franchise TE. We can go the free agent route for WR. We need another CB and DT also.
     
  10. TitanJeff

    TitanJeff Kahuna Grande Staff

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    They did better.

    White 1,110
    Brown 462
    Henry 119 (missing four games)

    So that works out to be 1691 yards from Titans RBs this season. Who cares if it is a single back or two (or three)? It's about production.

    Again, the only problem I saw was a few games where they had trouble converting third-and-short run plays and in the red zone.

    Who cares? His entire signing bonus is spread out over the length of his contract. Cutting him makes all that payable against the cap in '08. Good luck signing Albert, Odom and others AND being a player for a WR in free agency when you do things like that.

    Nothing short of a major injury or suspension is going to keep White from being the #1 and Henry the #2 next season.
     
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