Isaiah Pead Talks Rams RBs, The O & Himself (101 ESPN)

[ShaneG]

Shane Gray provides special Rams commentaries on 101sports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ShaneGmoSTLRams.

In the 2012 NFL draft, the St. Louis Rams spent a premium pick – a prized second-round selection – on University of Cincinnati running back Isaiah Pead.

At the time, St. Louis reportedly viewed Pead as a future feature back and the eventual successor to Steven Jackson – a three-time Pro Bowl honoree and the franchise’s all-time rushing leader.

Now, some wonder if Pead – who has amassed 37 yards on 14 carries this preseason after compiling just 54 rushing yards in the 2012 regular season – has any type of real future in the Gateway City.

In Pead’s recent start vs. the Green Bay Packers, however, he had little room to run. Although he gained just 19 yards on 11 carries, Pead showed a less hesitant and more aggressive approach when running the football. That, if nothing else, is a positive sign.

And had he been afforded better blocking, his stat line may have looked a little better.

“If a receiver makes a block on the first carry,” head coach Jeff Fisher pointed out, “Isaiah may score.”

(Hope you all enjoy the full piece below):

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.101sports.com/2013/08/21/pead-talks-rams-running-backs-the-offense-and-himself/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.101sports.com/2013/08/21/pea ... d-himself/</a>

 

[albefree69]

Interesting topic you chose to write about Shane. And great timing. :bg:

I would just add to your excellent commentary the fact that Pead's pass protection ability is almost as important to the Rams as the pass receiving skills you mentioned.

How do you see the retirement of Ganaway affecting the RB situation? Most of us here think Chase will be the odd man out and all the rest make the final roster. What do you think?

 

[nighttrain]

Interesting topic you chose to write about Shane. And great timing. :bg:

I would just add to your excellent commentary the fact that Pead's pass protection ability is almost as important to the Rams as the pass receiving skills you mentioned.

How do you see the retirement of Ganaway affecting the RB situation? Most of us here think Chase will be the odd man out and all the rest make the final roster. What do you think?

Pead's pass protection ability was very good
train

 

[Username]

Interesting topic you chose to write about Shane. And great timing. :bg:

I would just add to your excellent commentary the fact that Pead's pass protection ability is almost as important to the Rams as the pass receiving skills you mentioned.

How do you see the retirement of Ganaway affecting the RB situation? Most of us here think Chase will be the odd man out and all the rest make the final roster. What do you think?

Agree. Good shit. This is what the fans want. Keep it up man, enjoying your stuff.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Yeah, good piece as always Shane.

I will say this; I like what I hear from Pead. Additionally, "trying too hard" and "over-thinking" is something experience can cure.

I would love to see this guy get some lanes, bust a few nice runs, and build some confidence.

 

[ShaneG]

Interesting topic you chose to write about Shane. And great timing. :bg:

I would just add to your excellent commentary the fact that Pead's pass protection ability is almost as important to the Rams as the pass receiving skills you mentioned.

How do you see the retirement of Ganaway affecting the RB situation? Most of us here think Chase will be the odd man out and all the rest make the final roster. What do you think?

Thanks my friend.

Good point on the pass protection. Fisher has repeatedly emphasized that pass protection will be vital as for who plays in this offense, probably emphasized all the more due to this being an offense that will probably be a little more pass heavy than many of Fisher's offenses of the past.

Reynolds best hope is his special teams work. Other than that, he would like the odd man out still. But his special teams work gives him at least an outside shot at a roster spot.

 

[V3]

The more I see him play, the less impressed I am. I'm not seeing any improvement in his running. He might also be the worst KO returner in the NFL. I hope for the best with him but I sure don't expect it.

 

[Rambitious1]

Shane Gray provides special Rams commentaries on 101sports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ShaneGmoSTLRams.

In the 2012 NFL draft, the St. Louis Rams spent a premium pick – a prized second-round selection – on University of Cincinnati running back Isaiah Pead.

At the time, St. Louis reportedly viewed Pead as a future feature back and the eventual successor to Steven Jackson – a three-time Pro Bowl honoree and the franchise’s all-time rushing leader.

Now, some wonder if Pead – who has amassed 37 yards on 14 carries this preseason after compiling just 54 rushing yards in the 2012 regular season – has any type of real future in the Gateway City.

In Pead’s recent start vs. the Green Bay Packers, however, he had little room to run. Although he gained just 19 yards on 11 carries, Pead showed a less hesitant and more aggressive approach when running the football. That, if nothing else, is a positive sign.

And had he been afforded better blocking, his stat line may have looked a little better.

“If a receiver makes a block on the first carry,” head coach Jeff Fisher pointed out, “Isaiah may score.”

(Hope you all enjoy the full piece below):

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.101sports.com/2013/08/21/pead-talks-rams-running-backs-the-offense-and-himself/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.101sports.com/2013/08/21/pea ... d-himself/</a>

Another good article Shane.
Thank you.

It seems like Pead is working hard, so the effort is there.
I'm just hoping he puts it all together soon. He has talent out the wazoo, so he could be a real weapon for this offense when/if he puts it all together.

 

[ShaneG]

The more I see him play, the less impressed I am. I'm not seeing any improvement in his running. He might also be the worst KO returner in the NFL. I hope for the best with him but I sure don't expect it.

Yes, the kickoff return thing doesn't look promising in the least. I haven't seen much hope from him at all in that regard. In terms of his running, though, I do feel it is getting better. He is minimizing his hesitation and starting to rush more aggressively.

 

[V3]

The more I see him play, the less impressed I am. I'm not seeing any improvement in his running. He might also be the worst KO returner in the NFL. I hope for the best with him but I sure don't expect it.

Yes, the kickoff return thing doesn't look promising in the least. I haven't seen much hope from him at all in that regard. In terms of his running, though, I do feel it is getting better. He is minimizing his hesitation and starting to rush more aggressively.

Maybe I need to rewatch some of his games from last year to compare to this year? What I'm seeing from him this year is still a lot of hesitation. Perhaps the hesitation is less than it was a year ago? Either way, I still see way too much of it and it's making me think he doesn't have the vision to be a successful RB in the NFL. RBs usually don't take long to show you what they are capable of. Again, I hope I'm wrong. I'm just being honest.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Maybe I need to rewatch some of his games from last year to compare to this year? What I'm seeing from him this year is still a lot of hesitation. Perhaps the hesitation is less than it was a year ago? Either way, I still see way too much of it and it's making me think he doesn't have the vision to be a successful RB in the NFL. RBs usually don't take long to show you what they are capable of. Again, I hope I'm wrong. I'm just being honest.

I got to be honest; this is where my head is at. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[jap]

Maybe I need to rewatch some of his games from last year to compare to this year? What I'm seeing from him this year is still a lot of hesitation. Perhaps the hesitation is less than it was a year ago? Either way, I still see way too much of it and it's making me think he doesn't have the vision to be a successful RB in the NFL. RBs usually don't take long to show you what they are capable of. Again, I hope I'm wrong. I'm just being honest.

This is not always true. A classic example of this was SJ himself. (This is something I have pointed out before so please have some patience with me for those who already saw it.)

SJ was drafted #24 overall in 2004. However, he did not fully bloom until around midseason of 2006. Why? SJ simply was not running at the proper pad level when he first came aboard the U.S.S. Rams. He was running way too tall and was losing many leverage battles as a result. SJ also was saddled with the inability of near instantaneous burst such as Marshall before him possessed. As a result when he was stacked up at or behind the LOS before he got his momentum going, even little DBs could topple him with ease. It could look ridiculous and embarrassing to the casual viewer, but it was simply a matter of leverage. A little guy who could get up under SJ's pads could shove him backwards before he had a chance to morph into Battering Ram mode.

In 2006, the Rams signed FA Stephen Davis (SD), who was formerly with the 'Skins. SD played at 230 pounds and was very strong for his size, although he was not quite the bull young SJ was. Yet SD knew how to lower his pads and blast his way to significant yardage.

Somewhere around the middle of the 2006 season, between the interaction between the two power backs over the period between Week 6 against the 'Hawks, the Week 7 bye week, and Week 8 vs the Chargers; the light went on for SJ. Up to then, he had been productive but had not really achieved his full potential rushing. Up to that point, our resident Batter Ram had accumulated 521 yards in 6 games. Over the last 10 games, he racked up an impressive 1,007 yards.

The old tall running stance was gone, replaced by a mimicry of SD's lowered shoulders approach. The last game against Minny was especially impressive since the Vikings D boasted some 700 pounds in two stout DT's, Kevin & Pat Williams, who were the primary reason they had not had any runners gain 100 yards on them all season. For three straight quarters SJ pounded that proud Minny DL, closing in on the century mark. In the fourth quarter they finally cracked as the young rams man-child raced through them on a 59 yard jaunt to pay dirt. By game's end he had garnered 142 yards on 25 carries for a sparkling 5.7 yard average. That last game truly encapsulated just how far SJ had grown from his past running style.

Isaiah Pead's issues are known. At Cincinnati his OL was not very impressive, and he lost trust in them. He took to free lancing his way through the defense rather than relying on his blockers to clear the pathways for him. That's fine for the collegiate world, but that doesn't work in the NFL where savvy defenders are faster, stronger, smarter, and better tacklers. A lot of Isaiah's issues last pre-season came from his unwillingness to trust his blockers, attempting to free lance like he did in college. Of course, NFL defenders close off his angles of rushing very quickly and over the course of the season he had to learn to run with discipline behind his blockers, mostly in practice.

If sports reporters, no matter how savvy, understand Pead's issues, how much more does the Rams coaching brass understand them, which probably explains why they have been so patient with the kid. Naturally, they will only be patient so long, however great his potential can be.