Is Isaiah Pead In Trouble?

[CGI_Ram]

That's at the very root of our "disagreement". I don't pay any attention to whether or not a guy gets drafted in the first round, or the 7th round. Once they are here and on the field, all I see is whether or not they can play football.

The draft is too much of a crap shoot, and there are so many guys who are either over drafted, or not drafted at all for me to put too much credence in it.

By your logic, Daryl Richardson shouldn't have the same expectations put on him, as Zac Stacy, solely based on their draft position.

Cody Davis is every bit the football player that Brandon McGee is, maybe better based on what I have seen so far. But because he wasn't drafted, we shouldn't "expect" much out of him?

So to the point I made earlier; you don't expect more of Brockers than you did Clifton Ryan?

 

[CoachO]

That's at the very root of our "disagreement". I don't pay any attention to whether or not a guy gets drafted in the first round, or the 7th round. Once they are here and on the field, all I see is whether or not they can play football.

The draft is too much of a crap shoot, and there are so many guys who are either over drafted, or not drafted at all for me to put too much credence in it.

By your logic, Daryl Richardson shouldn't have the same expectations put on him, as Zac Stacy, solely based on their draft position.

Cody Davis is every bit the football player that Brandon McGee is, maybe better based on what I have seen so far. But because he wasn't drafted, we shouldn't "expect" much out of him?

So to the point I made earlier; you don't expect more of Brockers than you did Clifton Ryan?

Once I see the player, then of course. There is more upside to Brockers. But for every example you want to use like that I can give you just as many? Jimmy Kennedy ring a bell?

Suffice to say, we don't see this the same way. You want to place expectations on a player, again, that's your prerogative. I see it differently when it comes to Pead. Lets leave it at that.

 

[iced]

he's only had a rookie season which he missed a lot of camp and had limited touches....

and people expect him to grow significantly without the reps?

They say it takes a rookie usually 3-4 years to "get it"... haven't even started the 2nd season and people want to throw him to the bottom of the pile, when he's probably the most talented guy we got at RB.

 

[CGI_Ram]

he's only had a rookie season which he missed a lot of camp and had limited touches....

and people expect him to grow significantly without the reps?

They say it takes a rookie usually 3-4 years to "get it"... haven't even started the 2nd season and people want to throw him to the bottom of the pile, when he's probably the most talented guy we got at RB.

I've been debating this topic hard, but don't see or want him thrown to the bottom of the pile. I'm just offering an opinion. Pead can make this opinion bunk come next Saturday.

I will disagree with your rookie timeline of 3-4yrs... particularly at RB!

If Pead is going to show something, if healthy, it should be this year (or last... ).

 

[V3]

he's only had a rookie season which he missed a lot of camp and had limited touches....

and people expect him to grow significantly without the reps?

They say it takes a rookie usually 3-4 years to "get it"... haven't even started the 2nd season and people want to throw him to the bottom of the pile, when he's probably the most talented guy we got at RB.

It doesn't take RB's that long to "get it". It's the easiest position to find. There are surprises every year at RB. Last year it was Morris and Ridley. Others from previous years include Foster, McCoy, MJD, Bradshaw, Green-Ellis, Charles, Turner, Sproles, etc.

I'm all for giving the kid a fair chance (especially considering where they took him). I just find that RB's usually will show you if he has "it" pretty early on.

 

[albefree69]

CoachO telling it like it is:
Does the same thing apply to Richardson, who FUMBLED 3 times last year (in 160 touches). Bottom line for me, there is no one RB on this roster who is good enough to expect them to separate themselves from the pack.

Not Richardson, Not Pead, Not Stacy, Not Ganaway, Not Stacy.

They all have their strengths, and they all have weaknesses in their "game". They will be used in the situations that play to their strengths.

Hit the nail on the head.

 

[albefree69]

CGI_Ram hitting the sweet spot:
am rooting for the guy and I do not think it's fair to call him a bust with so little playing time... BUT; the onus is on PEAD to change the perception.

Last year we made excuses about "his late graduation". This year? Well... let's stop making excuses for the kid. It's up to him to show up on Sunday.

Couldn't agree more with that.

BTW, you weren't sounding pissy to me.

 

[-X-]

FWIW...

I can see both sides of this thing. On the one hand, when you draft a RB at the top of the 2nd round, you expect him to be vastly better than someone you take in the 7th round. Otherwise, that 7th rounder would have been much higher on your board.

On the other hand, it does take *some* players a year or two for the light to come on. I do agree that RB is the easiest transition, but that doesn't account for anything other than running. There are protection schemes, sight adjustments, learning the entire playbook, route running, etc. Maybe Pead really did fall behind early last year and Richardson didn't. That doesn't make Pead a bad player -- just a slow learner, I'd imagine.

So, like everyone else, I'll hold out hope that the switch flips this year and he lives up to the potential affixed to his draft position. If not, the situation will take care of itself.

 

[CoachO]

Here's my "out of the box" take on what happened last year. I have commented on this before, so its not a new revelation, just not in this forum. Watching camp from day one, Isaiah Pead was "THE GUY" getting the majority of all the reps. Richardson didn't practice the first 2 weeks of camp, due to a hamstring strain. They were limiting Jackson from the outset of training camp, giving him reps at the start of each session, then immediately going to Pead.

Pead also got the lion's share of the work in the 1st two Preseason games, all BEFORE Richardson made it back from his injury. IMO, not only were they trying to get Pead as many reps to "catch up" from missing all of the OTAs, he was the only one getting the reps.

When Richardson finally got back on the practice field, it was OBVIOUS his legs were fresh, and it was like everyone else was in slow motion. He was lightning hitting the holes, and yes, he did indeed AT THAT POINT look like the better RB. Pead fell victim to "camp legs" and never recovered. Not saying he was any different than he had been, but the difference between a fresh Richardson, and ALL of the other RBs at that point in camp was noticeable.

Now, fast forward to the start of the regular season. Richardson is now firmly entrenched in the backup role, with the "bellcow" veteran leading the way, there just wasn't going to be opportunity for a 3rd RB to get the reps, be it in practice, or on Sundays.

Throw in what we now know, of his "off field" issue last year, it further explains why he fell off the map.

Now moving forward, by the mere fact that the guy who they were committed to feeding the ball being gone, and the guy who did in fact has the benefit of being the "incumbent", Richardson inherited the "starters" label for now. But given the overall youth and inexperience of the entire RB corp, and that they all have their own strengths and weaknesses, each and everyone of them will be given their opportunity to contribute.

INCLUDING PEAD, who is STILL sharing reps with the 1st unit offense.

 

[MTRamsFan]

I just hope Pead doesn't turn into the next Trung Candidate. IMO, I still think he is pressing too much. I remember a pre-season game last year when Marshall Faulk commented that Pead was running too hard to get to the hole and that he needed to let the hole develop and then explode through it. Many times a running back doesn't give the O-Line the chance to setup the running lanes because they are too anxious to get through the line and into the second level. Most teams use a zone blocking scheme on running plays which creates more than one hole to run through. He needs to let the running lanes setup and then use his speed to get through them. Ball security is a whole other issue. Once you are tagged as a fumbler, every defensive player is going to try and strip the ball from you. That has to get cleaned up and none too fast or his days with the RAMS will be short-lived. I still think he can be a solid player, but he needs to stop pressing.

GO RAMS!

 

[Ram Quixote]

You never hear about a guys draft status when they EXCEED expectations.

CGI - Not true - at all. Again, unless I'm totally missing your point. EVERYONE talks about finding the next Marques Colston, Adrian Foster, etc.

I think Coach is referring to the draft status of high picks who exceed expectations.

 

[albefree69]

Ram Quixote with his definition:
I think Coach is referring to the draft status of high picks who exceed expectations.

I'm pretty sure that's not correct because they, at one point, were comparing DR a 7th round pick to Pead who was a 2nd. More importantly , is it even possible for a high round pick to exceed expectations? :lol:

 

[iced]

Ram Quixote with his definition:
I think Coach is referring to the draft status of high picks who exceed expectations.

I'm pretty sure that's not correct because they, at one point, were comparing DR a 7th round pick to Pead who was a 2nd. More importantly , is it even possible for a high round pick to exceed expectations? :lol:

How often do you hear of Brandon marshall's draft status? (4th round)

Or jay ratliff? (7th)

Tony Romo? (UDFA)

Hell Matt Schaub was a 3rd round pick who was traded to the Texans...never hear that though

 

[-X-]

And now for a musical interlude...

[mp3]http://www.sme69.com/musik4.mp3[/mp3]

 

[DR RAM]

And now for a musical interlude...

[mp3]http://www.sme69.com/musik4.mp3[/mp3]

Alright, that got me fired up. I'm back in.


Pead rules!

 

[albefree69]

iced asked:
How often do you hear of Brandon Marshall's draft status? (4th round) Often in the past

Or jay ratliff? (7th) very often by the color guy announcing the Cowgirl games

Tony Romo? (UDFA) ad nauseum

Hell Matt Schaub was a 3rd round pick who was traded to the Texans...never hear that though I don't consider the 3rd round to be a low pick

How about Colston, Warner and so many of the older players? I hear this kind of thing all the time but as they're not Rams (except Warner) I don't bother to remember most of the exact spots in the draft they were taken.

Unless they get really famous you rarely hear anything after their first 3 or 4 years because it becomes irrelevant then except for purposes of comparison. Before that point in their career it gets mentioned very frequently. If someone took an average, I'd bet that all the regular posters average mentioning draft positions at least once weekly during certain times of the year. The mainstream media is no different from us except that they only really care about a few teams except at draft time so they mention stuff like that a little less than we do.

 

[Ram Quixote]

Ram Quixote with his definition:
I think Coach is referring to the draft status of high picks who exceed expectations.

I'm pretty sure that's not correct because they, at one point, were comparing DR a 7th round pick to Pead who was a 2nd. More importantly , is it even possible for a high round pick to exceed expectations? :lol:

Sure. Ever hear of a guy name Lawrence Taylor? Darrel Revis? Megatron? How about Jerry Rice? Haloti Ngata? Ray Lewis.

That's not even mentioning any of the QBs. Drew Brees.

I could go on.

 

[Ram Quixote]

iced asked:
How often do you hear of Brandon Marshall's draft status? (4th round) Often in the past

Or jay ratliff? (7th) very often by the color guy announcing the Cowgirl games

Tony Romo? (UDFA) ad nauseum

Hell Matt Schaub was a 3rd round pick who was traded to the Texans...never hear that though I don't consider the 3rd round to be a low pick

How about Colston, Warner and so many of the older players? I hear this kind of thing all the time but as they're not Rams (except Warner) I don't bother to remember most of the exact spots in the draft they were taken.

Unless they get really famous you rarely hear anything after their first 3 or 4 years because it becomes irrelevant then except for purposes of comparison. Before that point in their career it gets mentioned very frequently. If someone took an average, I'd bet that all the regular posters average mentioning draft positions at least once weekly during certain times of the year. The mainstream media is no different from us except that they only really care about a few teams except at draft time so they mention stuff like that a little less than we do.

The 3rd round is low for QBs.

 

[albefree69]

Ram Quixote confusing me:
Sure. Ever hear of a guy name Lawrence Taylor? Darrel Revis? Megatron? How about Jerry Rice? Haloti Ngata? Ray Lewis.

That's not even mentioning any of the QBs. Drew Brees.

I could go on.

I don't think I'm understanding what you're saying. Here's what I thought you were saying.

"the draft status of high picks who exceed expectations."

Who uses a high draft pick on someone they don't think will be great? If I draft someone early I expect them to be great. If you're saying that the players you mentioned turned out better than great and that's why they exceeded expectations then I guess I can sort of agree with that but how does that pertain to what CoachO and others were talking about?

Plus, what is the point you're trying to make about that?

I'm hitting the sack now but I'd like to continue this conversation tommorrow because I'm interested in finding out. :bg:

 

[A55VA6]

Let me ask you guys this.

Saturday night. Edward Jones Dome. Green Bay Packers. Pead fumbles. What now? Or... what if he runs the ball very well, no fumbles, and maybe even scores a TD?

I'm just curious on how the Pead supporters and doubters would feel with each scenario for the next game. Does it change anything?