Originally posted by MC9BEAT:
Someone in the back field has to go. We can't keep 5 RB's.
Even if we trade LMJ where does Hyde fit in this season? If we limit Gore to 12 carries and we split another 12 carries a game to Hunter and Lattimore what is left for Hyde? He would be lucky to carry the ball 5 times. Unless we are going to bench Hunter or Lattimore isn't going to be contributing much what's left for Hyde? 12 measley carries a game fir Hunter and Lattimore isn't much but it pretty much makes Hyde a bystander. Maybe Hyde could get 10 carries if we bench Hunter and he splits time with Lattimore backing up Gore.
So it begs the question. If Lattimore is ready to play well then maybe it's not LMJ who will be gone. If Hunter is heading for the bench maybe he will be gone. He has 1 yr left on his contract and won't get any playing time and we don't use him on special teams. LMJ is a good KR and can back up the other 3 as well as Hunter. Or, could it be Gore who might be gone? I know it's hard to imagine.
Everyone assumes it's LMJ who will be gone but it could just as easily be Hunter because with the other 3 on the roster LMJ now has more value than Hunter because of special teams and if Lattimore is playing well it could even possibly be Gore because of cap room.
Yeah, interesting questions. I'm not sure how it will play out.
I think they'll keep four backs on the roster. My guess is LMJ gets cut. LMJ is a good return guy, but KR are becoming less-and-less important in the NFL with them moving the kickoffs forward a couple years ago. PR are more important, and LMJ is passable at best in that department. He shows some nice burst at times, but he also looks shaky back there. Hunter is clearly a better pure runner than LMJ. To me, the tiebreaker would be James' attitude. He's dug his grave multiple times by going to Twitter and making a fool out of himself. He's in the doghouse.
Last year we had essentially five RB/FB on the roster: LMJ, Gore, Hunter, Dixon and Miller; Dixon was unique, because he was a versatile guy -- he was occasionally used in short-yardage situations, he could play fullback and special teams. I think this year, we'll see Hunter, Gore, Hyde, Lattimore and Miller. I could envision their roles as follows:
Gore: 50% of the carries
Lattimore: 30% of the carries
Hunter: 20% of the carries
Hyde: situational short-yardage scenarios (goal line, 3rd/4th and 1, etc...); the role we envisioned Brandon Jacobs having; Hyde has 20-30 pounds on Gore. Gore has great vision, but when there aren't holes, he's not capable of powering his way for a couple yards anymore. Look at his production against Seattle this year. Outside of the huge run in Candlestick, he was horrendous. They plugged all the holes committing to stopping the run and Gore could not do a damn thing. (Not trying to completely scapegoat Frank -- some of it was on our line. And I do love Frank, by the way.)
Now, here's something that's important to consider: 4 running backs sounds frivolous, and, like you said, there are only so many carries to go around. However, Gore is now 31 and dropped down to 4.1 YPC last year (worst of his career). He's probably going to decline again this year. Plus, it's basically a lock that all four of these guys will not stay healthy this year. Gore (because of his age) and Lattimore (because of his history) are both big risks. When one of them goes down, suddenly having four on the roster won't seem so insane anymore.
[ Edited by theduke85 on May 10, 2014 at 8:13 AM ]