I've changed my tune a little bit.
I watched a ton of RB video yesterday, and not including Gurley or Gordon, who I think will both be gone by #27, here's what I've come away with...
I still love Duke Johnson. He'll never be Jerome Bettis, but I think he's being vastly underrated as an inside runner. He definitely runs through contact and rarely ever ends a run behind the line of scrimmage, but unlike most of the backs we talk about here, when he sees a hole he's gone. His vision is second to none. He catches the ball down the field. He's the most elusive back in this draft. I think he's going to make some team very happy. I just wish that team would be Dallas.
Tevin Coleman has some of Johnson's big-play ability. You can't argue with the numbers. But watching the video I just didn't see a 2000 yard runner. Maybe it's just his thin frame, which I really don't hold against him, but he doesn't seem to run strong, if you know what I mean. There are a lot of you all who have seen Coleman play a lot more than I have, though, so maybe someone can set me straight.
But now, down to bidness...
I think it's obvious that the philosophy of our head coach and his team is to use the running game to batter and demoralize those who oppose them. And I have to say, I absolutely love the idea of my team being the bully. There's just something about one guy carrying the load that makes an offense seem more nasty. You know he's coming on first down. You know what's happening on third and short. Goal to go inside the five? Here he comes, and there's nothing you can do about it.The game moves into the second half and that guy is still stomping through the line of scrimmage and into the secondary. He's not getting tired. He's not avoiding you or anyone else. He's getting stronger. He's slamming you in the mouth. And by the middle of the fourth quarter, you see him coming and just want to get out of the way.
This is what Demarco Murray gave us last year. This is the type of back Jason Garrett is looking for. And though I think a lot of Ryan Williams and the potential of DMC intrigues me, the hammer we need is not on the team. Luckily for the good guys, there are several candidates in the draft. 1) Duke Johnson. 2) Tevin Coleman. 3) Ameer Abdullah. These are NOT those players.
So, who is?
The first guy I took a look at was Jay Ajayi, as there seems to be more buzz around him than any of the others. He is big and plays hard to the snap. I had no idea he was so good out of the backfield, but he has great hands. He seemed average to me though, in every other way. Not fast. Not particularly powerful. Not possessing great vision. He kind of reminded me of Marion Barber, but without the violence. Just a guy.
I'd been pretty impressed with TJ Yeldon in the past. He has good size and pretty decent speed and elusiveness, but as I was watching the video, he really didn't strike me as a power back. He ran between the tackles and through lots of arms, but he seemed to depend more on his quickness than his strength. That kind of surprised me. That was not how I remembered him. I still think he's a good player. He really sticks his foot in the dirt and goes to the hole. I probably won't whine too much if he turns out to be the one, but I think we can do better.
There's Mike Davis, who reminds me physically of Emmitt, but seems to lack the All Time Leader's vision and explosion to the hole. Among other things. Davis is a good receiver and pass protector though, and I think he'd make a decent chain mover behind the Dallas OL.
The running back I turned out liking most really surprised me. I've never seen him play, except for the video I've looked at. Like an idiot, I looked at his combine numbers and dismissed him out of hand. But a little education has changed my tune. In my opinion, if we can't have Todd Gurley, the hammer I want is David Cobb. The guy has good vision and decent elusiveness. He DEFINITELY plays faster than his timed speed. He's big and powerful and to my untrained eye, smashes through traffic and carves out "dirty yards" better than any other RB in this class (not named Gurley). He has good hands too and is pretty good picking up a blitz. If I'm the Cowboys, this is the anvil I want mashing defenses for the next four years.
