Rams' hidden treasure: Running back

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Mike Sando
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/ ... nning-back

Any team with Steven Jackson at running back should be set. But for the first time in too long, the Rams have promising young depth behind the only NFL running back riding a seven-year run of 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

Second-round choice Isaiah Pead provides badly needed speed and energy in a change-of-pace back. Seventh-round choice Daryl Richardson also impressed during organized team activities and minicamp practices.

The Rams had their reasons for employing veterans Cadillac Williams and Jerious Norwood as Jackson's backups last season. Reliability and experience meant more during a lockout-shortened offseason, particularly with the Rams' expectations surging some after posting a 7-9 record in 2010. Even this offseason, re-signing Williams or making a run at free agent Cedric Benson might have invited favorable reviews on those players' reputations.

Youth will be served under first-year coach Jeff Fisher. It should almost always be served at running back, anyway. Pead and Richardson offer speed and shiftiness. They give the Rams something they haven't had in the backfield: variety and depth with upside.

My first inclination was to profile the Rams' wide receivers for this piece. We've gone over that ground. Running back was another position with the potential to exceed expectations, at least from a depth standpoint. Now, it's up to the players to prove it.

 

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I hope they can stash Daryl Richardson on this team somehow.

Janoris Jenkins on the guy who gave him the hardest time while he was at North Alabama:
"Uhh... it was a runningback. From Abilene Christian."

 

[Memento]

I hope they can stash Daryl Richardson on this team somehow.

Janoris Jenkins on the guy who gave him the hardest time while he was at North Alabama:
"Uhh... it was a runningback. From Abilene Christian."

I think that Richardson will make this team because of his receiving skills; he's almost like another receiver in the backfield. I'd also like to see them try him out on special teams as a returner. No, the real question is if they'll stash Middleton, Schwieger, or Reynolds (depending on who impresses the most) on the 53-man roster or practice squad.

 

[Thordaddy]

Mike Sando
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/ ... nning-back

Any team with Steven Jackson at running back should be set. But for the first time in too long, the Rams have promising young depth behind the only NFL running back riding a seven-year run of 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

Second-round choice Isaiah Pead provides badly needed speed and energy in a change-of-pace back. Seventh-round choice Daryl Richardson also impressed during organized team activities and minicamp practices.

The Rams had their reasons for employing veterans Cadillac Williams and Jerious Norwood as Jackson's backups last season. Reliability and experience meant more during a lockout-shortened offseason, particularly with the Rams' expectations surging some after posting a 7-9 record in 2010. Even this offseason, re-signing Williams or making a run at free agent Cedric Benson might have invited favorable reviews on those players' reputations.

Youth will be served under first-year coach Jeff Fisher. It should almost always be served at running back, anyway. Pead and Richardson offer speed and shiftiness. They give the Rams something they haven't had in the backfield: variety and depth with upside.

My first inclination was to profile the Rams' wide receivers for this piece. We've gone over that ground. Running back was another position with the potential to exceed expectations, at least from a depth standpoint. Now, it's up to the players to prove it.

As Sando sez, youth at RB is a must because the position wears the body out fast and our RB's accounted for a huge part of why we were so "injured" last year.
The "reliability and experience " just didn't materialize and in fact Williams made a rookie mistake that cost a TD in one game we COULD have competed in.

 

[-X-]

Mike Sando
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/ ... nning-back

Any team with Steven Jackson at running back should be set. But for the first time in too long, the Rams have promising young depth behind the only NFL running back riding a seven-year run of 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

Second-round choice Isaiah Pead provides badly needed speed and energy in a change-of-pace back. Seventh-round choice Daryl Richardson also impressed during organized team activities and minicamp practices.

The Rams had their reasons for employing veterans Cadillac Williams and Jerious Norwood as Jackson's backups last season. Reliability and experience meant more during a lockout-shortened offseason, particularly with the Rams' expectations surging some after posting a 7-9 record in 2010. Even this offseason, re-signing Williams or making a run at free agent Cedric Benson might have invited favorable reviews on those players' reputations.

Youth will be served under first-year coach Jeff Fisher. It should almost always be served at running back, anyway. Pead and Richardson offer speed and shiftiness. They give the Rams something they haven't had in the backfield: variety and depth with upside.

My first inclination was to profile the Rams' wide receivers for this piece. We've gone over that ground. Running back was another position with the potential to exceed expectations, at least from a depth standpoint. Now, it's up to the players to prove it.

As Sando sez, youth at RB is a must because the position wears the body out fast and our RB's accounted for a huge part of why we were so "injured" last year.
The "reliability and experience " just didn't materialize and in fact Williams made a rookie mistake that cost a TD in one game we COULD have competed in.

Eh. He made one mistake (a stupid one), but he was far from a liability the rest of the time he was in there. I was rather impressed with how hard Williams ran last year. And over 4 YPC isn't something I'd normally complain about. Norwood, on the other hand, was non-existent.

 

[Anonymous]

Eh. He made one mistake (a stupid one), but he was far from a liability the rest of the time he was in there. I was rather impressed with how hard Williams ran last year. And over 4 YPC isn't something I'd normally complain about. Norwood, on the other hand, was non-existent.

Yeah Williams played well last year.

I mean like you say, except for the brain glitch against NY obviously, but overall he played well.

 

[Thordaddy]

Mike Sando
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/ ... nning-back

Any team with Steven Jackson at running back should be set. But for the first time in too long, the Rams have promising young depth behind the only NFL running back riding a seven-year run of 1,000-yard rushing seasons.

Second-round choice Isaiah Pead provides badly needed speed and energy in a change-of-pace back. Seventh-round choice Daryl Richardson also impressed during organized team activities and minicamp practices.

The Rams had their reasons for employing veterans Cadillac Williams and Jerious Norwood as Jackson's backups last season. Reliability and experience meant more during a lockout-shortened offseason, particularly with the Rams' expectations surging some after posting a 7-9 record in 2010. Even this offseason, re-signing Williams or making a run at free agent Cedric Benson might have invited favorable reviews on those players' reputations.

Youth will be served under first-year coach Jeff Fisher. It should almost always be served at running back, anyway. Pead and Richardson offer speed and shiftiness. They give the Rams something they haven't had in the backfield: variety and depth with upside.

My first inclination was to profile the Rams' wide receivers for this piece. We've gone over that ground. Running back was another position with the potential to exceed expectations, at least from a depth standpoint. Now, it's up to the players to prove it.

As Sando sez, youth at RB is a must because the position wears the body out fast and our RB's accounted for a huge part of why we were so "injured" last year.
The "reliability and experience " just didn't materialize and in fact Williams made a rookie mistake that cost a TD in one game we COULD have competed in.

Eh. He made one mistake (a stupid one), but he was far from a liability the rest of the time he was in there. I was rather impressed with how hard Williams ran last year. And over 4 YPC isn't something I'd normally complain about. Norwood, on the other hand, was non-existent.

Oh I'd say he made other mistakes ,there was one game changer, rookie bonehead mistake being refered to and the desired experience he was supposed to deliver didn't materialize. I mean we were IN that game and not covering a ball in your own end of the field and standing by watching the way he did,just not what you keep a veteran for.

I liked a lot of the way he ran but he was IN the game because our starter was hurt on a non contact injury that IMO was related to age .

But Sando makes the point as well as I could that letting your backs get too old is courting trouble and predictably the older guys will get injured,it's the nature of the position.

As for Pead, he's only marginaly smaller than Faulk and will probably stay in better shape so I think he COULD be expected to be as durable.
I like the direction we are headed at the RB position.

 

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Oh I'd say he made other mistakes ,there was one game changer, rookie bonehead mistake being refered to and the desired experience he was supposed to deliver didn't materialize. I mean we were IN that game and not covering a ball in your own end of the field and standing by watching the way he did,just not what you keep a veteran for.

I liked a lot of the way he ran but he was IN the game because our starter was hurt on a non contact injury that IMO was related to age .

But Sando makes the point as well as I could that letting your backs get too old is courting trouble and predictably the older guys will get injured,it's the nature of the position.

As for Pead, he's only marginaly smaller than Faulk and will probably stay in better shape so I think he COULD be expected to be as durable.
I like the direction we are headed at the RB position.

Not that I want to have a huge drawn-out debate about Cadillac or anything, but I find it hard not to refute things I think are inaccurate. I said he made one mistake, and you said there were more. Then you went on to elaborate on the one. If he made others (and that's not uncommon), then I didn't see them. And they must have been insignificant enough to brush over like ya did there. You know that was a designed forward pass, right? It's just that Bradford got pressured and had to hurry the throw. It's not like Cadillac KNEW it was going to be a lateral.

He ran well enough to fill in for Jackson and their YPC was nearly lateral. Can't ask for much more than that really. He was an upgrade from Ogbonnaya, Toston and Darby, and there weren't a ton of good FA RBs available at the time anyway. Sproles is the only one I can think of, and there was no way he was choosing the Rams over the Saints. I don't think Jackson's injury was due to age either. I mean, he just turned 28 when the season started. I can see if he was 32 or whatever, but that dude is probably in the best physical condition of anyone in the league. He just got his foot clipped and planted his leg wrong. Could happen to anyone. Do I think he has 5 years left? No, of course not. But I'm really not concerned with his age at the moment. Hell, I wish I was 29 years old. We were indestructible back then, yeah?

Agree about Pead. I feel really good about him. I've watched a lot of videos of him in college, and he's got an arsenal of moves, he's really really balanced, has good vision, and tough to tackle in the open field. He reminds me more of a smaller Michael Turner than Faulk though. You gotta be all kinds of good to be mentioned in the same breath as Faulk or Sanders.

 

[Thordaddy]

Oh I'd say he made other mistakes ,there was one game changer, rookie bonehead mistake being refered to and the desired experience he was supposed to deliver didn't materialize. I mean we were IN that game and not covering a ball in your own end of the field and standing by watching the way he did,just not what you keep a veteran for.

I liked a lot of the way he ran but he was IN the game because our starter was hurt on a non contact injury that IMO was related to age .

But Sando makes the point as well as I could that letting your backs get too old is courting trouble and predictably the older guys will get injured,it's the nature of the position.

As for Pead, he's only marginaly smaller than Faulk and will probably stay in better shape so I think he COULD be expected to be as durable.
I like the direction we are headed at the RB position.

Not that I want to have a huge drawn-out debate about Cadillac or anything, but I find it hard not to refute things I think are inaccurate. I said he made one mistake, and you said there were more. Then you went on to elaborate on the one. If he made others (and that's not uncommon), then I didn't see them. And they must have been insignificant enough to brush over like ya did there. You know that was a designed forward pass, right? It's just that Bradford got pressured and had to hurry the throw. It's not like Cadillac KNEW it was going to be a lateral.

He ran well enough to fill in for Jackson and their YPC was nearly lateral. Can't ask for much more than that really. He was an upgrade from Ogbonnaya, Toston and Darby, and there weren't a ton of good FA RBs available at the time anyway. Sproles is the only one I can think of, and there was no way he was choosing the Rams over the Saints. I don't think Jackson's injury was due to age either. I mean, he just turned 28 when the season started. I can see if he was 32 or whatever, but that dude is probably in the best physical condition of anyone in the league. He just got his foot clipped and planted his leg wrong. Could happen to anyone. Do I think he has 5 years left? No, of course not. But I'm really not concerned with his age at the moment. Hell, I wish I was 29 years old. We were indestructible back then, yeah?

Agree about Pead. I feel really good about him. I've watched a lot of videos of him in college, and he's got an arsenal of moves, he's really really balanced, has good vision, and tough to tackle in the open field. He reminds me more of a smaller Michael Turner than Faulk though. You gotta be all kinds of good to be mentioned in the same breath as Faulk or Sanders.

I didn't really brush over anything ,I merely observed that the statement that he made one mistake was probably an impression because it was his worst,but that there were others such as the lost fumble in the Dallas game.
Yes the pass he goofed on was supposed to be a forward pass, but the defender recognized it as a lateral and Williams should have as well and like I said it was a "rookie " type mistake which if you are going to suffer those sort of mistakes generally you prefer the player to have inexperience as his excuse instead of stupididty as you CORRECTLY characterized it. It WAS the sort of play he was kept for the purpose of NOT having happen was my observation .
But MOSTLY my thesis of the Rams and their RB situation last year is that having your top three RB's average being in their 7th seasons is predictably an injury problem waiting to happen considering the KNOWn short life span of RB's in the NFL.
It would not surprise me if that were not something McD had a hand in because it's an impression of mine that the Patriots seem to relly a lot on older backs and it might be something he became used to doing there.

Williams THOUGH as a backup isn't the whole point ,I wouldn't have a problem with his age IF the guy in front of him was younger,like when Stephen Davis backed up a much younger SJ,then you compound it with Norwoods age and it aint rocket surgery you are gonna lose games at RB .
Again the GLARING mistake Cad made was during a game where he was the starter when the guy hebacked up was hurt on the first play of the year from a non contact injury (likely age related).

In summation IMO Sando is right we were too old last year at RB, and have rested on the broad shoulders of SJ too long ,good to see Fisher has a good handle on the intrinsic age sensitivity of the RB position. He held onto Eddie George a little longer than he should have so score one for experience teaching a coach,maybe Spags learned the same lesson,ardunno.