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stop the animosity CCS.
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He is not bad. But he is not a special talent.
I just think he is a grinder. He is going to grind you 1000 yards with not a ton of explosive plays.
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He did get better later in the season.
But the Rams were 23rd and Vikings 15th against the run so, playoff calibre but not really stout rushing defenses.
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He got better because Nagy increased zone running to 74% and he averages 4.1 in zone and 2.9 in gap.
Les Grossman
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I'm assuming you think Cohen is a better RB than Howard? That's laughable. Cohen is a borderline WR who can't really carry the full load of a 3 down back. He's suspect in pass protection as well.
Cohen is explosive yes, but he's definitely NOT a better RB than Howard.
Visionman
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This is 100% true. Instead of defenders having to go sideline to sideline or chasing him down, they just rally up to the ball from their positions in coverage.
But it still doesnt explain the fact that Howard should have been able to expose those light boxes for regular 4-6 yard gains before those back 7 defenders rallied up to make the play. He still had issues finding and hitting the hole, and breaking some easy arm tackles. So he didnt have the longer runs, but he never made the most of the shorter ones, either...
WestCoastBearsFan
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There is no finding and hitting the hold in a gap blocking scheme. The hole is predefined and limited ability to cut back. What he had trouble with is that if the blocking wasn't there where the hole was suppose to be, his cutback options were limited so he was just running into a wall.
In essence the gap blocking eliminated his vision and ability to cut back and he is not the type of runner that can hit the hole hard with acceleration before the D closes down on the whole.
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So he's merely average. Understood.
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His production his first two years would suggest otherwise. Just think Fox knew how to deploy him and Nagy did not initially.
Visionman
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Sure. If you run a sucky offense and constantly feed Howard the ball, he can perform decently. If you want to go back to that....have fun.
Midway Fields
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His YPC is dropping faster than the crypto market. Had a full yard drop off from year 1 to 2 then another half yard drop in the 3rd.
Howard has had a ton of wear and tear last 5 years. Was a workhorse at Toledo with a 300 carry season. He’s a physical runner so that’s gonna take a toll.
You know you are on the losing side of an argument and reaching when you start praising John Fox’s offensive sensibilities. Classic remy.
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He performed fine in zone blocking scheme in one of our most impressive wins ie Minny.
Well when he is 2.9 in gap blocking and you run 40% of it then yes it will dropp.
It dropped last year because he faced 8 men 43% of time which was near top of NFL. 27% year before. It helps when you actually analyze the numbers.
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So, 1,000 yards doesn't mean much any more? I mean, I agree he's not elite, but you don't expect that where we have drafted. I thought we had a thunder/lightning thing with him and Cohen. I mean, sure, if we had a back that could do it ALL that would be great. Is it just a bad scheme fit?
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Only nine RBs rushed for over 1000 yards last year. The most was EE with 1434. (Barkley had 2020 total yards from scrimmage, EE with 2001.
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I think he limits the offense.
What are you sacrificing for that 1000 yards? Are there more explosive plays to be had? More dynamic use of those 15-18 carries.
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1000 yards is a fine bench mark, but he accomplished both of those numbers in bad offenses that had to rely on him to carry the load. If he had done it in a good offense that was producing outside of him I think it would have more merit.
It is like a basketball player that leads his team in shots and doesn’t have a lot around him, I expect him to average 20 points. But Nagy doesn’t want to dump it into the post for 20 points. He wants to fast break and shoot 3s and the big man doesn’t fit anymore.
His production has also declined in 3 straight years. There may be a physical component to this as well.
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i just can't believe all these nerds have given up on Ja. Howa.
