Running game sun. was Atrocious

[Mavrik]

Leon Washington: 5 carries, 17 yards

Kevan Barlow: 8 carries, 5 yards.

Cedric Houston: 11 carries, 13 yards

Pitiful. Against the Texans no less. Considering how surprising we've been at 6-5, i can only imagine what this team would look like with a legitmate running back. Would be the difference between a 6-5 team and say a 8-3 team.

No doubt running back better be a top priority in the offseason. Any FA RBs on the market?

[PatsFanTX]

No doubt running back better be a top priority in the offseason. Any FA RBs on the market?

http://www.theredzone.org/2007/freeagents/showposition.asp?Position=RB

[Thor99]

http://www.theredzone.org/2007/freeagents/showposition.asp?Position=RB

Slim pickings.

I wonder if Michael Bush or Adrian Peterson will fall.

[faba]

Running back would not be my first priority to look to draft-teams can find gems in later rounds at that position no matter what- look at the NFL rosters

[Mavrik]

http://www.theredzone.org/2007/freeagents/showposition.asp?Position=RB

thanks tx. Here's the list:

2007 Free Agent RBs:

Betts, Ladell UFA Redskins

Brown, Chris UFA Titans

Brown, Dee UFA Chiefs

Buckhalter, Correll UFA Eagles

Cason, Aveion UFA Lions

Davenport, Najeh UFA Steelers

Davis, Stephen UFA Rams

Dayne, Ron UFA Texans

Echemandu, Adimchinobe RFA Raiders

Eckel, Kyle ERFA Dolphins

Fisher, Tony UFA Rams

Gado, Samkon ERFA Texans

Green, Ahman UFA Packers

Green, DeJuan ERFA Raiders

Harris, Arlen UFA Lions

Harris, Kay-Jay ERFA Rams

Herron, Noah ERFA Packers

Hicks, Maurice RFA 49ers

Lee, ReShard RFA Raiders

Mahe, Reno UFA Eagles

McIntyre, Corey ERFA Saints

Minor, Travis UFA Dolphins

Morris, Sammy UFA Dolphins

Mungro, James UFA Colts

Perry, Chris RFA Bengals

Pinner, Artose RFA Vikings

Rhodes, Dominic UFA Colts

Robinson, Roger ERFA Cardinals

Ross, Cory ERFA Ravens

Scobey, Josh UFA Seahawks

Shipp, Marcel UFA Cardinals

Smith, Musa UFA Ravens

Thomas, Anthony UFA Bills

Toefield , LaBrandon UFA Jaguars

Turner, Michael RFA Chargers

Wallace, Butchie ERFA Falcons

Ward, Derrick RFA Giants

Watson, Kenny UFA Bengals

Whitehead, Terrence ERFA Bengals

Williams, Shaud RFA Bills

Slim pickings indeed. Honestly wouldn't want anyone on that list. Looks like we'll have to put our chips into the draft.

[124]

There's only 2 quality starting running backs on that list and they are 29 year old Ahman Green and Michael Turner. Turner is a RFA so who knows what we'd have to give up for him while Green us unrestricted. Should be interesting to see if we try to bring one of them in or go towards the draft with the possibilites of Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch, Michael Bush and Kenny Irons looming.

[SoFlaJets]

There's only 2 quality starting running backs on that list and they are 29 year old Ahman Green and Michael Turner. Turner is a RFA so who knows what we'd have to give up for him while Green us unrestricted. Should be interesting to see if we try to bring one of them in or go towards the draft with the possibilites of Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch, Michael Bush and Kenny Irons looming.

I agree on Turner 124 but how old is Green?

[raffyD]

I agree on Turner 124 but how old is Green?

Draft a RB with one of our 2 2nd round picks, one of which may be pretty close to a first and call it a day.

Personally, I would like to see the Jets go after the best guard and rt in the draft with their first two picks and maybe start putting together an all-time great line ala cowboys circa early 1990's or those hogs from the 80's. That could go a long way for this team.

[124]

I agree on Turner 124 but how old is Green?

Green's 29... may be 30 by the start of next season but IMO if we can't find anyone in the draft we could always pick him up in a 1-2 year deal and run him for a few seasons and draft a back later on in the draft to groom or in 2008's draft.

[raffyD]

Green's 29... may be 30 by the start of next season but IMO if we can't find anyone in the draft we could always pick him up in a 1-2 year deal and run him for a few seasons and draft a back later on in the draft to groom or in 2008's draft.

Forget Green, let's keep doing what we started, namely getting younger/healthier/faster and not older/damaged/slower.

[SoFlaJets]

those are two pretty good schools of thought there by raffy and 124-we DO have those 2 number 2's to maybe get one of the top 5 RBs in the country.I also like the idea of bulking up our O-line too.I'm pretty sure they're gonna do both...we need a couple of big roadgraders to make the running game more effective-hey look how Denver was always able to plug just about anybody in there at tailback and make him a thousand yard rusher,year in and year out-that was ALL about OL play

[Barton]

It might be time to cut out the running back by committee crap.

Barlow is slow as a fullback. The guy has no burst thru the line at all. He's really not all that powerful either.

A rb will rip off a 7 yard run, and then be replaced by another back? WTF is that? These guys need to get into a rhythm, you cant just cycle them out every other play, it doesnt work like that.

Leon should be our starter and get the carries. Draft a real RB in the draft- Lynch!

[Scott Dierking]

We really need to get over the "Boy, did this aspect of our game look bad yesterday".

This is football. And football game planning being what it is, any team can make any other team's strength look like a relative weakness some of the time.

The key to that point is that you have to look at how did the team do in adjustment? Houston had the front 7 stacked yesterday, begging the Jets to go over the top and beat them. And the Jets did that with some relative efficiency. Granted, it bogged when it became Red Zone time, as the field gets tighter.

With the fronts Houston was showing yesterday, Ladainian Tomlinson would have had a hard time breaking through.

Does that mean that the Jets run offense is great? Certainly not. Can it get much better? certainly. But also approach it from an understanding of what Houston was forcing yesterday. They dared Penny to beat them. Give him credit for taking that moment.

[LionelRichie]

It might be time to cut out the running back by committee crap.

Barlow is slow as a fullback. The guy has no burst thru the line at all. He's really not all that powerful either.

A rb will rip off a 7 yard run, and then be replaced by another back? WTF is that? These guys need to get into a rhythm, you cant just cycle them out every other play, it doesnt work like that.

Leon should be our starter and get the carries. Draft a real RB in the draft- Lynch!

i agree with you on barlow, he runs like corey dillon without the power. i kind of do like the rb by committe though - leon washington is a turf back and struggles on a chewed up grass field when he can't cut or shake. i like the leon/houston tandem and am not at all enamored with barlow, i really doubt he is back next year with his salary.

the one FA rb that i think is worth looking at is ladell betts. he has looked pretty good this season. he has a nice combo of power and speed and hasn't taken a beating in his first few season.

[SoFlaJets]

It might be time to cut out the running back by committee crap.

Barlow is slow as a fullback. The guy has no burst thru the line at all. He's really not all that powerful either.

A rb will rip off a 7 yard run, and then be replaced by another back? WTF is that? These guys need to get into a rhythm, you cant just cycle them out every other play, it doesnt work like that.

Leon should be our starter and get the carries. Draft a real RB in the draft- Lynch!

I agree with Barton here-name one guy the starter and let him get in sync with the OL and see what he can do-if I had my druthers I'd make it Cedric Houston with Leon as a Dave Meggett type 3rd down back-the Brad Smith at RB experiment has been a total failure IMO

[Scott Dierking]

It might be time to cut out the running back by committee crap.

Barlow is slow as a fullback. The guy has no burst thru the line at all. He's really not all that powerful either.

A rb will rip off a 7 yard run, and then be replaced by another back? WTF is that? These guys need to get into a rhythm, you cant just cycle them out every other play, it doesnt work like that.

Leon should be our starter and get the carries. Draft a real RB in the draft- Lynch!

Leon is not built for that kind of workload. Mangini, in this offense is going to want to give the ball carrier 30 carries if he has the perfect game plan for what he is trying to do.

A back of his build will have a hard time handling that. Mangini and Schott are looking to change pace and show defenses different looks and backs and to match them up. He is keeping them on their toes.

if you were to show Leon full time, they will pich those corners and force him between the tackles. That is not where he will make his living.

Like everything else they do, they are working a football like a great pitcher catcher combination do-Keep you off balance and keep you guessing. Then they will hit you. Not successful all teh time, but it is the way they choose to play the game and they have been right more often than not.

[Barton]

Leon is not built for that kind of workload. Mangini, in this offense is going to want to give the ball carrier 30 carries if he has the perfect game plan for what he is trying to do.

A back of his build will have a hard time handling that. Mangini and Schott are looking to change pace and show defenses different looks and backs and to match them up. He is keeping them on their toes.

if you were to show Leon full time, they will pich those corners and force him between the tackles. That is not where he will make his living.

Like everything else they do, they are working a football like a great pitcher catcher combination do-Keep you off balance and keep you guessing. Then they will hit you. Not successful all teh time, but it is the way they choose to play the game and they have been right more often than not.

Leon can run inbetween the tackles just as good as Barlow, if not better.

Houston is a better redzone back than Barlow. Leon definetly breaks more tackles than Barlow, and hits the hole 100X faster. Barlow is really a sh#tty back, he shouldnt be seeing the field.

And its not proven yet that Leon cant handle the 25 carry mark, which wasnt what I was saying he should get. More like 20 or less for Leon, the rest for Houston.

What I am saying really is, neither 1 of these guys are starting material, but Barlow is really far and away the worst back. He might be good on a muddy field, like we saw vs the pats, but he's just too damn slow and doesnt even run with much power.

[Scott Dierking]

Leon can run inbetween the tackles just as good as Barlow, if not better.

Houston is a better redzone back than Barlow. Leon definetly breaks more tackles than Barlow, and hits the hole 100X faster. Barlow is really a sh#tty back, he shouldnt be seeing the field.

And its not proven yet that Leon cant handle the 25 carry mark, which wasnt what I was saying he should get. More like 20 or less for Leon, the rest for Houston.

What I am saying really is, neither 1 of these guys are starting material, but Barlow is really far and away the worst back. He might be good on a muddy field, like we saw vs the pats, but he's just too damn slow and doesnt even run with much power.

You send Leon into teh line repoeatedly, and you will not be saying that. That is why they pick their spots with him.

Face it, this is a RBC rotation, and there is reasons for that.

NONE, and I repeat NONE of the Jets running backs they have on roster today would have benefiited by being given full exposure to that defensive scheme yesterday. No way

[Mavrik]

Green's 29... may be 30 by the start of next season but IMO if we can't find anyone in the draft we could always pick him up in a 1-2 year deal and run him for a few seasons and draft a back later on in the draft to groom or in 2008's draft.

Eh, I would like to avoid Ahman Green unless as a last resort. Green's on the last legs of his career. We'd basically be getting a Curtis-like RB for a year which wouldn't help our RB situation either in the present or in the long run.

The youth movement is younger, and we need to continue it at this position. I say look for a guy in the draft (as someone mentioned we have 2 2nd round picks) that has franchise-rb caliber talent. Nobody on that FA list are answers for us at RB.

[Barton]

You send Leon into teh line repoeatedly, and you will not be saying that. That is why they pick their spots with him.

I know. I said that none of these guys are starting material.

But they send Barlow to the line everytime and he gets NOTHING. And then they have the guts to give him a pitch off tackle? Good God, that guy gets chased down by the dtackle, he's so facking slow.

[Scott Dierking]

I know. I said that none of these guys are starting material.

But they send Barlow to the line everytime and he gets NOTHING. And then they have the guts to give him a pitch off tackle? Good God, that guy gets chased down by the dtackle, he's so facking slow.

I believe you will be seeing Houston more in rotation and less Barlow.

Let's face it, the Jets self scout very well right now and they try to change tendencies. Sometimes, that shifting tendencies forces them into something they are not good at.

This is a coaching staff that is studious and looks to keep the opponent off balance. If that means occassionally sending Barlow off tackle, even if it might not be a great play, they will do it.

[raffyD]

I believe you will be seeing Houston more in rotation and less Barlow.

Let's face it, the Jets self scout very well right now and they try to change tendencies. Sometimes, that shifting tendencies forces them into something they are not good at.

This is a coaching staff that is studious and looks to keep the opponent off balance. If that means occassionally sending Barlow off tackle, even if it might not be a great play, they will do it.

Kind of like wasting a pitch to get the batter from creeping on the plate, to return to your original analogy.

[Matt39]

Marshawn Lynch might not fit the Mangini mold.