I've been looking for potential RBs in the second round.....
by patriotguy2 on Feb 5, 2010 8:28 PM EST
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PrintAnd I took a notice at Ryan Mathews out of Fresno State.
Mathews is 5'11", 220 lbs and runs a 4.4 40 time. As I watched highlights of him, I analyzed some great things about him:
1) He has above average speed. He can break it from the outside, inside, and his speed works great with his weight and toughness.
2) His toughness. Each time I saw him about to get tackled, he lowers his shoulder, and either breaks free or gets 2-5 more yards. Also, he keeps his feet moving. I saw him bounce off of people, get hit to the side, etc, and he maintains balance and keeps his feet moving.
3) Balance. He has the necessary balance that running backs like frank gore and shonn greene has(yes, shonn greene has great balance).As I said above, he bounces off of people, and sometimes uses a second tackler to eliminate the first tackler, and break free(sometimes). If he gets knocked back, he keeps his balance, and I like that(unless of course that the hit overpowers him).
4) Vision. As I stated, he can run in and outside of the line. When he sees a hole, he bursts through. If not, he goes to the outside. Even if the hole is sort of small, he cradles the ball and bursts forward. When he goes to the outside, he knows he has a better chance(in other words when he feels that the line is too clogged, he uses the assumption that the outside is where less defenders are, and goes in the logical direction).
5) Power. This guy is mostly a power back, especially a guy his size(under 6 feet with 220 lbs.) and speed. At least, when I watch him it always seems that at least 1-3 guys try to tackle him(especially from the side) he basically shrugs them off. Pushing them aside with the stiff arm, or keeping the legs moving and wrestle the guy off. And when he bursts through the line, and goes through the tackles, defenders try to get a hold of him. Key word is try though.
6) Quickness. Although the guy has good power, his quickness surprised me. Out in the open, he's awesome. He has great quickness to make a great juke, and he has the vision to know which direction he's going to. He makes people miss tackles.
Here's his 2009 stats against opponents:
UC Davis(W: 51-0): Att-11, Yards- 106, Avg- 9.6, Long- 60, TD- 1.
@ Wisconson(L: 34-31): Att- 19, Yards- 107, Avg.- 5.6, Long- 55, TD- 0, Rec- 2, Rec yds- 9
Boise State(L: 51-34): Att- 19, Yards- 234, Avg.- 12.3, Long- 69, TD- 3
@ Cincinatti(L: 28-20): Att- 38, Yards- 145, Avg.- 3.8, Long 11, TD- 1, Rec- 2, Rec Yds- 32
@ Hawaii(W: 42-17): Att- 24, Yards- 149, Avg.- 6.2, Long- 19, TD- 0
San Jose State(W: 41-21): Att- 20, Yards- 233, Avg.- 11.7, Long- 59, TD- 1
@ New Mexico State(W: 34-3): Att- 25, Yards- 157, Avg.- 6.3, Long- 68, TD- 2, Rec- 1, Rec Yrds- 27
Utah State(W: 31-27): Att- 23, Yards- 185, Avg.- 8, Long- 46, TD- 2, Rec- 2, Rec Yds- 26
@ Idaho(W: 31-21): Att- 26, Yards- 143, Avg. 5.5, Long- 77, TD- 3, Rec- 3, Rec Yds- 18
@ Nevada(L: 52-14): Att- 8, Yards- 32, Avg- 4, Long- 20, TD- 0, Rec- 1, Rec Yrds- 10
Louisiana Tech(W: 30- 28): did not play.
@ Illinios(W: 53-52): Att- 32, Yards- 173, Avg- 5.4, Long- 42, TD- 3
No fumbles either.
I know that it's basically a wasted post just talking about one guy. So I might as well throw in a poll of all RBs in the 2nd round. But this guy caught my eye. Gerhart seems great too. Also, I went onto that draft site, and couldn't find info on Mathews, so I'll post the link to his 2009 highlights video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlZOFsVkjAo
He reminds me of a slightly more quicker frank gore, with a dash of LaDanian Tomlinson.
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I'm a big fan of college success...
…as long as it’s relevant and translatable (ie: Colt Brennan put up the best NCAA stats ever, but he played weak competition and wasn’t really fit for the NFL). I think the RB position is one that is both translatable (college success = NFL success) and relevant. I like Ryan Matthews because of his success, but I don’t know how strong of competition he’s faced. I’d much rather trade down into the 3rd round and grab Toby Gerhart and pick up a 6th or 7th round pick. Gerhart had just as much, if not more, success and played just as equal, if not stronger, competition.
i know what you mean.
and I don’t watch college football so I can’t tell what type of defenses an offensive player has faced.
These are the teams he faced in 2009, with his stats against them:
2009 Regular Season Game Log Rushing Receiving Fumbles
DATE OPP RESULT ATT YDS AVG LNG TD REC YDS AVG LNG TD FUM LST
9/5 UC Davis W 51-0 11 106 9.6 60 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
9/12 @Wisconsin L 34-31 19 107 5.6 55 0 2 9 4.5 9 0 0 0
9/18 Boise State L 51-34 19 234 12.3 69 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
9/26 @Cincinnati L 28-20 38 145 3.8 11 1 2 32 16.0 20 0 0 0
10/10 @Hawaii W 42-17 24 149 6.2 19 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
10/17 San Jose State W 41-21 20 233 11.7 59 1 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
10/24 @New Mexico State W 34-3 25 157 6.3 68 2 1 27 27.0 27 0 0 0
10/31 Utah State W 31-27 23 185 8.0 46 2 2 26 13.0 15 0 0 0
11/7 @Idaho W 31-21 26 143 5.5 77 3 3 18 6.0 9 0 0 0
11/14 @Nevada L 52-14 8 32 4.0 20 0 1 10 10.0 10 0 0 0
11/21 Louisiana Tech W 30-28 Did Not Play or did not accumulate any stats.
12/5 @Illinois W 53-52 32 173 5.4 42 3 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Concur
I like the idea of getting Gerhart as a value pick as well.
Can he return kicks and punts/play other positions/pass-block?
Hoodie’s only drafted multi-role WRs and HBs that high – even if they were a bust, at least they had a chance in several roles. I suspect he’s always looking for that magical “value” element (yes, poisoned word and all that) and he’d only go for a multi-position guy. BJGE was on his radar as a multi-purpose back, so was Maroney.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
Idk,I think he can return kicks. I'll check later.
but since he’s a RB., and we have a pass catching and possibly a 3rd down back(and he can return kicks) in maroney, I think it would be safe to draft Mathews without consequences of verastility(plus we could still have the RBC).
I only found highlights of him running so far(from the youtube video). Looking at him and his frame, I’d say he can pass block. He does have good vision and if anything they can have BJGE or Maroney for pass blocking.
Not all college guys can; not all NFL guys can.
Adrian Peterson is a liability in pass protection, for instance. Frank Gore can’t catch, for another. Hoodie likes multi-position, multi-skill guys, so that could be a deal-breaker, especially with the amount of time the Pats spend in shotgun and with an ageing Faulk.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
he can catch, which I guess is a plus over franky.
He’s a mostly a RB, and I think our team can use a guy that’s mostly RB caliber talent at the moment. I think we have plenty of versatile guys on the team, that if we get one guy that’s presumably a RB only guy than i think it could benefit us more in terms of having a run game. But I know he can catch in the backfield, and he has the skill, based on more highlights i’ve seen of him, to return kicks.
I can kinda see maroney be our faulk guy
while mathews will be our running/catching guy(maroney is also a great catcher). Mathews and Maroney could make a great tandem.
Over a free agent, though?
It’s always an option, of course, but I’d wait until after the first couple of days of free agency to say that Hoodie will target an RB – if he doesn’t snag one or two of them then, he might be aiming for the draft. I’m still wagering RE, RG, OLB and maybe RT get looked at before RB, though – they’re harder to pick up in free agency/trades. There’s always a pissed-off RB or a salary-cap casualty guy around in the RB ranks to fill a slot, but not so many RGs or 3-4 DEs.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
OL are very deep in the draft, and OL that were 1st rounders are now deeper in the draft.
Idk if he’ll get a RB in free agency. There have been trade rumors for anquan boldin, and there are good WRs in free agency he might try out. Plus, I don’t think he’ll get a RB that’s around 30 years or older for the team. If Maroney won’t be signed next year, I think he’d want to draft a RB just in case this year, and I think that’s more of a chance than a WR because we have edelman and tate.
I do think we’ll draft mostly DEs that might be an OLB, and a few OL. But like I said, OL is DEEP in this year’s draft.
There's a few teams with RBs who might be trade bait
The Jets have got three stud RBs, so they might jettison one; much the same with the Saints and Ravens. There’s also a few younger guys who might be looking for a way out of their positions elsewhere, because they’re a second or third back in a team where their primary gets 80% of the touches. Maroney’s good for another year on his contract, and he’s relatively cheap, so I don’t see why they’d get rid of him just yet.
I could see a WR being taken, but not so early – they’ve only drafted as highly as the second round, and two of the three (Branch, Bethel Johnson and Chad Jackson) were busts, whereas they’ve been able to trade for All Stars (Welker, Moss, etc). Stick with the tried and true, especially if the scouts the Pats use aren’t great at WR and HB evaluation – they’re FANTASTIC at O linemen scouting (Mankins and Vollmer were both reaches, apparently? Haha).
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
by Comedic.Sans on Feb 7, 2010 10:23 PM EST up reply actions
I feel like a lot of the scouting...
…has to do with position continuity.
What two positions have we done best at selecting?
O-Line and D-Line.
Scarneccia and Pepper.
I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
by Richard Hill on Feb 7, 2010 10:53 PM EST up reply actions
None whatsoever
But I also think it’s easier to go after those positions, because they’re far less likely to be a bust. Just think about a few years ago, when people were wondering what the Texans were smoking for selecting Mario Williams over Reggie Bush. A few years in hindsight, the Texans were absolutely correct.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
I don't like looking at the past, to predict who they'll draft. But it makes sense.
However, if belicheck feels they are worth it, he’ll draft them. I think they are worth it. and I think there’s great value of RBs in the second I think belicheck should take a look at. WR, not so much, but shipley and tate are great receivers with different styles that are in the second as well. I think the draft is deep enough for OL that they can consider taking a RB or WR in the second. Plus they also have success with DL and OL in the later rounds.
I think belicheck should consider taking them. It’s not like they’ll turn into a chad jackson JUST because the pats picked him up.
I couldn't find if he can return kicks or not. Now I don't think he does.
But I’ve been hearing that he took a few snaps at QB, and that he played in the wildcat formation(not that the wildcat matters to us).
It might factor in if Hoodie is looking for an eventual Faulk replacement, though
Versatility is key, and Faulk’s on pretty aged legs now. It could be a plus in scouting the guy. I’m still not sure he’ll use a 2nd on an RB with gaps in the O and D lines, though.
Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
I completely understand.
I think we’d get a RB or WR in the second round. If it’s RB, I like Mathews. Especially since it’s maroney’s last contract year next year.
Random opinion of WR Golden Tate.
Watching highlights of him he reminds of a faster Hines Ward with a dash of Torry Holt.
and yes he can return kicks and run from the backfield.
I like him in the second if we won’t get a RB.
Was watching some Gerhart highlights
I think he has more power than Mathews, but Mathew has more speed and quickness. I liked what I saw from Mathews than what I saw from Gerhart though.
Mathews has power too, not as much as gerhart.
But gerhart does not have much quickness, or at least not as much as Mathews has.
Gerhart would add a great compliment to Maroney.
And should be able to get short yardage.
by Richard Hill on Feb 7, 2010 10:08 PM EST up reply actions
Idk. He's good.
Bu I like Mathews better. Either one will be a great pick up.
toby scouting report
http://www.mockingthedraft.com/2010/2/4/1284849/toby-gerhart-nfl-draft-scouting
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he has great strength
but he does not have as much quickness as mathews. Mathews has both strength(although not as much) and quickness. He’s great at finding the holes and has excellent burst of speed. All gerhart has is that he’s bigger and stronger. he can find the holes sometimes, but he relies on using his strength to get through where he’s supposed to go, and does not have the necessary quickness to quickly change direction.
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