There are two things that stand out to me in terms of adequate sample size; Ryan Mathews can't break a big run and the Chargers have had an inordinate amount of injuries the past 3 to 7 years Sometimes, if you see the results long enough, things just have to be undeniable. Does anyone still think Mathews is that unlucky? What about Buster or English? Trends are just that - and there is a reason.
And knowing that bones normally heal stronger then they were before the break, he should be cool on clavicles for the rest of his career. Now lets just break the rest of his bones real quick and let those heal up, then he'll be like Wolverine out there, well except the O-Line will just let people into the backfield to tackle him, but he will be healthy when he gets up!
Here is the list of free agent RB's. Probably wont get any of the the ERFA or RFA's. Name Status Team Anthony Allen ERFA Baltimore Ravens Armando Allen ERFA Chicago Bears Damien Berry ERFA Baltimore Ravens Andre Brown ERFA New York Giants Bobby Rainey ERFA Baltimore Ravens Jeremy Stewart ERFA Oakland Raiders Lance Ball RFA Denver Broncos LeGarrette Blount RFA Tampa Bay Buccaneers Brock Bolen RFA Jacksonville Jaguars Curtis Brinkley RFA San Diego Chargers Richard Brockel RFA Carolina Panthers Jonathan Dwyer RFA Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Gronkowski RFA Denver Broncos Chris Ivory RFA New Orleans Saints Javarris James RFA Arizona Cardinals Chris Ogbonnaya RFA Cleveland Browns Cedric Peerman RFA Cincinnati Bengals Isaac Redman RFA Pittsburgh Steelers Antone Smith RFA Atlanta Falcons Eddie Williams RFA Cleveland Browns Darrel Young RFA Washington Redskins Jackie Battle UFA San Diego Chargers Cedric Benson UFA Green Bay Packers Ronnie Brown UFA San Diego Chargers Reggie Bush UFA Miami Dolphins James Casey UFA Houston Texans Tashard Choice UFA Buffalo Bills Mike Cox UFA Atlanta Falcons Jerome Felton UFA Minnesota Vikings Justin Forsett UFA Houston Texans Mike Goodson UFA Oakland Raiders Shonn Greene UFA New York Jets Jerome Harrison UFA Detroit Lions Lex Hilliard UFA New York Jets Peyton Hillis UFA Kansas City Chiefs Brandon Jackson UFA Cleveland Browns Steven Jackson UFA St. Louis Rams Brandon Jacobs UFA San Francisco 49ers Rashad Jennings UFA Jacksonville Jaguars Quinn Johnson UFA Tennessee Titans Felix Jones UFA Dallas Cowboys Greg Jones UFA Jacksonville Jaguars Brian Leonard UFA Cincinnati Bengals Corey McIntyre UFA Buffalo Bills Rashard Mendenhall UFA Pittsburgh Steelers Jalen Parmele UFA Jacksonville Jaguars Darius Reynaud UFA Tennessee Titans Javon Ringer UFA Tennessee Titans Bernard Scott UFA Cincinnati Bengals E. Alex Smith UFA Cleveland Browns Kevin Smith UFA Detroit Lions LaRod Stephens-Howling UFA Arizona Cardinals Danny Woodhead UFA New England Patriots I wouldnt mind Steven Jackson, Woodhead, or Howling. Pretty slim pickings for UFA RB's this year.
Just maybe, bringing in a new GM and HC will change the strength and conditioning programs and injuries could follow AJ and Norv down the road. Two clavicle breaks in the same year and not the same bone is crazy and I don't know if much can be done about that.
^ Of the above list, I've always loved the way Steven Jackson plays, and I've always loved that he is a tough runner and a never say die type of person. Seems like a good leader on his team too, not sure how much gas he has left in the tank or how realistic it would be to get him though.
This really sucks. Figures you can find serviceable RBs in any round...yet we seem to have whiffed on an injury prone one in the 1st. His stats this year don't concern me, I'll give him the same pass we all want to give Rivers due to the O-line. But the brittleness is disconcerting.
I don't give Rivers a pass, he played like trash this year and would have to earn back confidence in his play. In fact the way Rivers played this year reminds me of how bad Brees was when a Charger and we all know how he turned out. Rygina isn't any closer to proving his worth as a #1 pick today as he was yesterday, he sucks but it ain't all the offensive line.
Stats aside, he doesn't look good once he gets to the second level. He doesn't run through the secondary, he just gets corralled by them. He basically has no moves when he gets to the second level to break a long run. He's had a lot of opportunities to show something different, but he simply can't do anything to get past an NFL safety or CB. Further, Mathews doesn't drag people with him when he's getting tackled. I'm legitimately curious as to whether or not he does squats.
Part of that is on Ryan and Ryan's inability still to learn proper pass-blocking technique. Brown was largely in there in the "key" 3rd down situations and late in games because he could be depended upon to both make a technical block and to recognize (without having to be told) when he needed to adjust his assignment to account for a pass-rusher the line wasn't (or were struggling to account for). Now, if we assume the rumors are true (which I can't get one straight story on from either side, but I keep hearing it enough for there to be concern) that he's constantly out at the clubs and partying it up in the single life (and not just on the bye week or off-season), then I can see cause for concern as to his work ethic. He's a running back, and barring special ability running back is one of the three most replaceable positions in this league (I'd argue it's more replaceable than a good longsnapper is). Some positions you make excuses for based upon "unrealized potential," others there's just less need/desire to do so.
If the Saints don't choose to tender Ivory as an RFA I'd be all over that - heck I'd be all over it as long as they didn't use a high tender on him (he was a UDFA, so if they use the lowest tender there's no obligation to give them any compensation if they opt not to match the contract). Kevin Smith got a raw deal in Detroit this past year, he was producing just fine then LeShoure came back from suspension and Linehan cut Smith's carries back to nil. Ringer is serviceable. Dwyer's shown plenty this season behind Pittsburgh's constantly injured line. Goodson and Jennings are serviceable - not great by any means but certainly serviceable. Look, nobody on that list is really a gamebreaker - but that's because game-breaker's rarely if ever hit free agency in the franchise tag era. Doesn't mean that they can't be a serviceable three-down back behind a competent line (assuming we assemble one of those) with a QB capable of forcing teams to respect the pass and not stack 8 in the box. I think too many people got spoiled by having Tomlinson, when really if we've got an effective run-blocking line this team can do just fine and get quality production out of a Natrone Means type. Edit, he's been run into the ground and is winding down, But chances are very likely that Atlanta will be releasing Turner if he doesn't renegotiate his contract (since he's scheduled to make $8 million next season), so he's another option. Certainly not long-term, but serviceable until the point that a long-term option seizes the spot from him.
Investing in a RB in the first 4 rounds are crucial.. you can never have too many RB's.. especially if RM is your #1 option, lets face it, tough for the guy to stay on the field. He's taken a lot of hits as well cause of this ****** OL.. Woodhead I wouldn't even consider. Guy is a Patriot player in and out. He would be a total bust, his a Patriot player in their system. Not a lot to chose from, and I don't see Steven Jackson moving away from St. Louis. He likes playing for Fisher, and already got his contract, so he'll give him that hometown discount to stay. Reggie Bush, who will be looking for a big contract, and Jonathan Dwyer, RFA, are the only 2 I would consider off that list.
So he's opting out of his contract early - and the team went out of their way to let him - so that he can just sign a fresh one giving them a hometown discount? Sorry, but you're getting your facts from the wrong source.
Serviceable doesn't do **** for this team.. then need a guy, who can play that next man up role, and make an impact. I was at the 49ers - Pats game last night, and LaMichael James was 4th on the depth chart on this team before pre-season. Hunter got injured, Jacobs got nagged up, and now suspended, and now James is stepping up for the 49ers..
haven't been up to date with the news, this is the first I'm hearing of it, but I don't know, can't see Jackson here..
It's debatable. Jackson's going to go ring-hunting, the thing is I also have trouble seeing him going the Fred Taylor route where he's willing to just take a bench spot in order to ride an already in place team to a Super Bowl (not that that worked out particularly well for Taylor anyway). He's far more likely to go the LT route wherein he signs with a team that isn't quite the lock to go deep in the playoffs but has shown the potential to get there with the right additions (and of course money's going to factor in somewhere as well). Personally, I'm scared to death he's going to end up in Denver seeing Peyton as an easy path through the playoffs.
Yeah Denver is a possibility, but next year they'll be higher on Hillman and Moreno as backups to McGahee, and do they even have the salary cap to even put a good enough offer on the table? I don't think so, AND if they sign Clady to a big deal as well, there already pretty close to that magic cap number.. Don't you think if Clady was such a important piece for Denver they would of re-signed him already? Smells like he either wants to test the market, or Denver simply doesn't have the cap to squeeze him in and they'll need to make some big decisions this off-season. Because protecting Peyton's blindside is very important..
You can find serviceable RBs in any round in the draft, as well as UDFAs, and that with relative ease. Yet you want to use a premium draft pick on one, when our line can't pass protect or run block. Tell me how that makes sense?
This team needs an offensive line. There's no point in investing high picks in a RB anyway, let alone when you don't have a line for them to run behind. Investing in a RB for this team without having a line to support him would be the equivalent of putting a ship to sea with a hull made of chicken wire fencing. It isn't a good idea.
THEN WHERE ARE THEY?! Edwin Baker, who would fit your description as a serviceable back is on the PS, another "serviceable" back Curtis Brinkley is re-signed every other week. We couldn't run the ball for **** the first 4 games until Mathews came back, and our best game on the ground came against New Orleans. We need two picks on OL, an OLB and RB with the first 4 picks.. simple as that. Depending on what we do in FA as well. Mathews just isn't liable enough, and we either need to draft another guy, or sign someone in FA. There is nothing wrong with this. Ronnie Brown will most likely retire at seasons end, Battle isn't an every down guy and so isn't Baker or Brinkley. The cornerback draft class is MUCH stronger next year as well.
We had a healthy OL the first 4 games, besides Gaither who missed a few games, but still.. This team needs a reliable running back, who can take the load..
He wants to test the market and they're going to tag him. It's pretty clear-cut at this point. I honestly believe if Miami wasn't so tepid as to whether or not they're going to re-sign Jake Long and Long had a new deal in place by now that Clady would have already signed; he and his agent are waiting for whatever new deal Long gets to set a new benchmark that they can force the Broncos to meet. Duane Brown's recent extension from the Texans may give them that benchmark, but Clady's had a better track record of more consistent high level performance than brown does - plus he knows he's in a sweet bargaining position because he's protecting Peyton's blindside. I don't know that the Broncos are really up against the cap a ton, but then we could see Von Miller start pressing for an extension (even though his current contract is fully guaranteed) as he was among the first high picks to suffer at the hands of the lesser compensation awarded to Top 5 picks and he's turning out a performance like that of one of the top defenders in the league.
Freak'n Mathews hurt again...what a revelation.... It's been 3 LONG years....let's face the facts folks....he's a ******-*** AJ bust...... Time to move on to bigger & better things.... I'm frick'n tired of this sheeot......we all just got too spoiled with LT for years.
Maybe we could use a running back like #15 from the Jetz... I heard that he might be available after this season.
The curious case of Ryan Mathews' clavicles There were high hopes for Ryan Mathews’ third season. For the wrong reason, he achieved something rare. The Chargers running back suffered two broken clavicles in about four months, the first to his right shoulder on Aug. 9 in his first preseason carry and the second Sunday to his left shoulder during a loss to the Panthers. He had surgery Monday and is expected to recover well in time for the start of the team’s voluntary offseason workouts in April. Dr. Daniel Kharrazi, orthopedic surgeon at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, has been a shoulder specialist about 15 years. This sequence, he said Tuesday, is “very unusual.” “If you look at shoulder injuries in football, clavicular fractures are generally low-incident injuries,” Kharazzi said. “And this guy’s had two of them in four months. That’s why I think people are alarmed. People realize this is generally a rare injury. … “If you were to ask me four months ago, ‘Do you think he’s going to break his left clavicle?’ I would have said he’s more likely to be struck by lightning.” The clavicle, also referred to as the collarbone, is a long S-shaped bone that helps support the scapula and humerus within the shoulder girdle. It requires the right hit at the right force, Kharazzi said, to break it. For that, Mathews can credit a clean shot from Panthers rookie linebacker Luke Kuechly. In the second quarter, Mathews slipped out of the backfield on third-and-16 and caught a checkdown pass over the middle. He cut to his left, stiff-armed cornerback Captain Munnerlyn with his right hand, while running toward the Panthers sideline, was tripped up by cornerback James Thomas. At the exact time Mathews’ left shoulder rolled onto the turf at Jack Murphy Field, the 235-pound Kuechly came crashing onto Mathews’ right shoulder, sending an added amount of pressure onto his left. Mathews stood up and waved his left hand toward his left shoulder before jogging to the sideline and, eventually, the locker room. He knew. Kharazzi, who has not personally examined Mathews, assured there is nothing structurally wrong with Mathews’ shoulders and “freak accidents happen.” He said he expects the bone to heal to full strength. "I don't think Ryan Mathews, because of the two specific injuries, is injury prone," Kharazzi said. "He's just been unlucky enough to have these in a short span of time ... “I don’t think he’ll ever break his clavicle again, although I may be wrong. I think this will be the last time you and I talk about Ryan Mathews’ clavicles.”
I heard he had freakish ability, but I thought it was in reference to making plays on the football field.
