Originally posted by jreff22:
Originally posted by DelCed2486:
Originally posted by jreff22:
Originally posted by Joecool:
Originally posted by jreff22:
Originally posted by Buchy:
I think a few things on this:
1) I think his blocking is suspect perhaps so he can;t be on the field more, he won't unseat Gore or Hunter on that
2) If all we did was throw a screen or run pistol then as soon as he came on the field the defense would know the call.
Exactly!
Gore and Hunter can go inside and outside. James screams of a one dimensional player and the D would know it. If Latt comes back 100% I would bet we resign Dixon cheap and dump James. Actually we could probably trade him to Philly.
Sproles doesn't scream one dimensional?
My thoughts? Roman is trying to form Kap to be a legit pocket passer. To do this, the last thing Kap needs is new cogs around him. He needs vets who know how to improvise in case plays do not go as planned. Until then, don't expect guys like LMJ, kYle Williams, Baldwin or Patten to contribute.
LMJ isn't close to Sproles' talent level.
So you can decree this from the extremely limited number of touches James has been given? Sproles has made a living coming out of the backfield and burning LB's who can't find him, catches a 5-yd pass and turns it into chunk yardage. Have you seen HaRo put James into situations to utilize his very similar skill set?
His lack of dressing for the games is proof of this. Obviously he isn't some kind of elite talent, if he was he wouldn't be getting passed up by Dix and KW. Either Harbs has a massive grudge or the kid isn't as good as people think. You really believe Harbs likes KW's return ability or the lack of true speed on O?
I don't know why Harbaugh is so stubborn in his use of KW, it's one of those enigmas wrapped inside a riddle. I know there are injuries to the WR corps, but it's not just this year...KW sees the field a lot, gets a lot of reps, and I just don't see anything special about him.
I would absolutely rather see LMJ have packages for him where he can line up in the slot, have him in the pistol next to/behind Kaepernick and force LB's to not lose him in the wash at the LOS on short pass routes, set up screens/reverses/swings/wheel routes for him. Get him the ball in space. And the dude CAN run the ball...so he gets knocked down for no gain sometimes...happens to Gore, Hunter, and Sproles, too. Look at the only game LMJ got any amount of extended carries this season, it was vs the Rams. Yes, only the Rams, but at the point in the game they knew the Niners were going to run the ball, but they were running stretch plays and LMJ was still hitting the edge FAST and looked good.
Last season Harbaugh sat on LMJ and only played him once his hand was forced with the Hunter injury. And James produced...in 4 reg season games over 4.5 ypc, only caught 3 passes but all went for 1st downs. Plus he can return kicks....and can do it much better than KW. I just don't get where this notion comes from that he doesn't have what it takes to be one of those dynamic guys that's lightning in a bottle. It's kinda hard to prove himself when he's in street clothes...yes, this can become a circular argument, because why is he in street clothes then? Good question. It really might be as simple as maybe he's an immature a-hole and Harbaugh doesn't like his act, and unless Harbaugh feels it's a pressing need to have him in there, then he's not going to play. I think it's too bad, because I do believe he is a playmaker and just a small handful of plays for him would be a nice added dimension to this offense.
[ Edited by DelCed2486 on Oct 21, 2013 at 11:01 AM ]