how does he only get 11 carries? simple, Mangini doesn't give him more. why he only gets 11, I don't know.
and yeah no disrepsect to barlow, as one poster above said, he grinds out 2 yards from nothing and we still need that type of guy...but the love for leon is growing
haha yea that was me. ive seen people crucify barlow and call him slow. hes no leon of course, but he looks slow because he takes his time to look for a hole and when he cant find one he just busts through a group. I like him in the red zone. but yea, I've preached about Leons ability beyond his size since draft, as have others (Trey Ko and FloridaJetsFan). its time for the rest of our fans to drop the "Kevin Faulk, utility-guy" label as his best possible contribution and realize this guy is making yards and 1st downs with a line almost any back would have trouble running behind. imagine if we actually had some run blocking?
Leon has earned more touches IMO. He has been able to make something out of nothing more so than any other rb on the roster. and in the draft we need to get a fb....brian leonard out of rutgers. hes like alstott without the fumbling. hes a solid lead blocker too...just ask ray rice, the #2 rusher in the NCAA this year.
Hmm, let's see. Could Leon's lack of carries have anything to do with the strength of our offense? Are we a running team, or a passing team? Is our QB great at handing off the ball, or just pretending to? You rush Barlow up the gut for the lousy 1 or 2 yards because then on the next play with him in, the defense is looking for him to run up the gut again. That allows Chad to fake the handoff, and throw downfield. Washington is going to run sideways, so defenses are going to take a step back, knowing that if it's a run play, they can catch up to him on the outside before he makes more than a couple yards, or be prepared for the passing play. Until Washington has more time to develop as a player, especially his blocking, he is going to share the load. Have some patience. If he deserves the shot, this staff will give it to him. Right now though, giving him 20 touches does not make us a better football team, and that's all that really matters.
Leon was running between the tackles yesterday. He def needs to develop his blocking in the passing game, but he needs to get more touches. He should get the bulk of the carries, splitting time with Barlow. Barlow should be back there on passing downs when we need a backfield blocker. When the rb is going out to run a route, Leon should be getting those passes. He has so much big play potential, just like Brad Smith, that we have to find a way to get the ball into his hands more often. 11 carries just isn't getting it done though.
Washington runs a lot more draws than Barlow does.. I don't think Washington should, just by being himself, get more carries than Barlow. I think the game should dictate what is going to happen. I think Washington with 20+ carries every week won't be as effective. I'm a fan, I'm questioning him, and I do not think he's made of plastic. I just think he's a change of pace back.
Maybe Leon is getting a handfull of carries for the same reason Curtis isn't coming back for at least two weeks.... Coach doesn't want to MURDER our REAL talent. Just let Barlow try and smash it in there till our O-Line can actually create some running lanes. My 2 cents
Leon is clearly the best active RB we have as far as rushing the ball inside and outside the tackles, and catching it out of the backfield in between the 20's. I noticed a couple of times yesterday where he tried to pickup a blitzer in passing situations and whiffed miserably. I think this is the major reason he's not seeing the majority of the touches. Barlow has the edge experience wise as well, though this is a completely new offense for both of them so I find it hard to believe he's THAT far ahead in that respect. Hopefully Leon can improve his blocking so he can be on the field more.
I have no problem with Barlow in a goal line or big formation as a short yardage back but Washington has more than proven himself capable of shouldering most of the starting load. He is shifty, explosive, great out of the backfield and should be lining up at tailback for 90% of our plays.
It is a fact that the smaller backs take more punishment from defenses, and is the main reason you don't see dozens of the smaller, faster backs on the field squeaking through the holes in the starting role. It's also the reason those smaller backs are made part of a tandem most of the time, instead of just being the feature back as we have gotten used to with Curtis. Shaun Alexander and Clinton Portis have larger, sturdier frames and are able to take more punishment, within reason. Dunn and Tiki have both famously been partners in tandems, for the reason I stated above.
When Houston comes back... If Curtis doesn't come back at all, which is a possibility, I'd like to see Houston and Leon get the workload for a whole game. (when Houston gets back on the field) I think that these 2 backs working together could be a good fit for our running game this year. Barlow hasn't done much to impress, and I know he doesn't shoulder all the blame for that. Considering that we are in a rebuilding mode, I don't see why the younger guys shouldn't get a chance to put their mark on the team. Hopefully Curtis gets back on the field and is productive. But I think his retirement is all but a forgone conclusion. I think the younger backs should get a shot. And then during the draft in April, we take Brian Leonard so we shore up the FB position and we can cut BJ.
Kevan Barlow is terrible. He has no creativity and just runs right up the middle. Washington and Houston always seem to get the extra yard or so and find the cut back lanes. The running game is clearly more effective with Leon Washington (Or Cedric Houston). If you can't see this, than you're not watching the Jets games
I see Washington as our Version of the Tiki Barber to be honest with you. Tiki is this small fast elusive guy, he's not big he doesn't over power guys he just makes things happen, and Leon reminds me so much of Tiki, because every sunday my dad and i get together and Watch the Jets and the Giants play. Tiki is a phenomenal back and to be honest if we have our own version in Leon I will be ecstatic for years to come. Barlow was a waste of a draft pick i said it when we traded for him, we should have gone with what we had. Our top 2 rbs should be Houston and Washington. end of story
I disagree with your assessment of Clinton Portis. I have been a Canes fan for years and have been in the Canes lockeroom when Portis was there. His body isn't as sturdy as Leon's. Portis played at 170-190 lbs throughout his college career. He was not that big, even in his senior year (about 190 lbs). Portis put on the weight since he has been in the league. Leon has consistently played at 195-200 since his true freshman year, after playing from 185-190 lbs in his high school days. By the way, Portis was 170 lbs in high school, and 175 lbs when he fumbled twice against East Carolina in a losing effort when he was a freshman at the "U".
I don't know....that dude that writes them up seems a little too zoned into the punting game....that guy is a straight up wierdo....:rofl: :rofl: :shit:
