T.C. F.J. and MBIII

[Cochese]

Excellent post. Of the three, Choice is most equipped to carry the load. MB3 for short yardage, red zone, and a smash mouth change of pace... Felix for the home run...

And you came to this conclusion after....6 games?

Remember when everyone was ready to anoint Julius after 1/3 of a season?

 

[Bleu Star]

Choice is clearly the best overall back on the staff IMO.

Truth

 

[Bleu Star]

And you came to this conclusion after....6 games?

Remember when everyone was ready to anoint Julius after 1/3 of a season?

Yes. I remember. How many games has Felix started? How many games has MB3 started? Choice ran with a vision and determination last year that was a cut above the rest. When MB3 went down everyone got all down in the dumps and thought the season was a wash. No? Well, I'm no Nostradamus or anything but I had faith in Choice. The guy can ball. I don't think he's the next Emmitt or TD but he has the potential to be a very good load carrying RB in the league.

 

[CF74]

For those who think Felix will start next year, think again!!! Felix is the guy who can make this offense exciting but not as a full time half back. That belongs to T.C.
Tashard showed us all last year that he is the rock steady half back we need. Felix is the scat back that can make a defense pay on any play. He needs to be moved around and especially in the slot where he can create mis matches. We need to learn the screen pass and utilize it with all of our three backs.

Marion is the the blunt instrument of the offense. He will press his full force on the neck's of the defense when they have had it trying to tackle Tashard and chase Felix.

Marion should not start the game, Tashard should!!!! Felix should be given a healthy number of touches at running back and slot receiver but the main man is definitely Tashard. He has the heart, the moves and the ability to break tackles on a consistent basis.

Let's use Marion to his best effect. He is a third down, short yardage guy and definitely the best closer in the NFL.

Done right this could be one of the great running back groups ever in the NFL.

It makes to much sense and it will take Garrett eons to figure it out.

 

[Pokes12]

And you came to this conclusion after....6 games?

Remember when everyone was ready to anoint Julius after 1/3 of a season?

You make a very good point. A lot of people were taken in by Jujo. I was not. My good friend told me that Jujo was a terror at ND. And he had a few good games for us. However, those games were largely the result of long runs on top of many many mediocre. Choice appears to be different. He did not dazzle he just flat out looks and plays like a football player. He moves the ball forward even in the face of no available hole for the ordinary back. I am not annointing him the next EMMITT but he could be!!!!
Let's give the kid the rock and see what he does with it. There is one other thing. When he gets interviewed there is that certain "cool" factor that he has that says he is special.

 

[jazzcat22]

How about all three in the game at the same time. MBIII at FB, Choice at tailback and Felix in the slot. RW and MA on the outside and Witten. That is a lot of talent for any defense to cover. I was listening to ESPN radio yesterday and they had a local announcer from Detroit on. They asked him if RW was a No. 1 receiver. He said most certainly, YES!!!!! He says RW has some of the best hands in the league and knows how to use his size to block out the defender. The only knock on him was his lack of speed. But we have that in Miles Austin and Felix Jones. I am getting excited for next year!!!

That would be interesting And I can see that happening on a 3rd or 4th and short...who gets the ball, could confuse a defense. Can 1 of the RB's pass?

But on a regular basis, not sure how it would work. But I am not a coach. So I'm sure they ideas are there for them to try. That's what TC is for.

 

[Pokes12]

Great point!!!
We used to run the halfback option to a lot of success back in the day. Dan Reeves, a former QB at South Carolina, was adept at getting the ball to Bob Hayes and Lance Alworth. Then Robert Newhouse got into the act and threw a touchdown in the Super Bowl!!

When was the last time we threw the half back option? I know Emmit never did. It is really not that complex, and if it is not open you just run it. Don't throw it unless the receiver is wide open.

Let's have a little fun and play football like it was meant to be played with razzle and dazzle and most of all with passion!!!!

 

[GOLDENCHILD1688]

We do love our backup running backs on this board.

If we start Choice then we will have people wanting to start whoever is behind him.

We wanted Hambrick over Emmit.

We wanted Barber over J. Jones.

Now we want Choice over Barber.

Who are we going to want over Choice?

We finally have a top notch running back again. Can't we be happy with that?

well said

and people are making it seem like barber wasnt doing a good job when he was a starter

barber was effective as well. his problems didnt start until romo got hurt and defenses started to play us closer to the line of scrimmage

also the toe injury slowed him late in the season. i cant figure out why people on here are acting like barber is no longer fit to start. cant get it.

 

[jazzcat22]

well said

and people are making it seem like barber wasnt doing a good job when he was a starter

barber was effective as well. his problems didnt start until romo got hurt and defenses started to play us closer to the line of scrimmage

also the toe injury slowed him late in the season. i cant figure out why people on here are acting like barber is no longer fit to start. cant get it.

The same theory for our RB's apply to the same as the QB's. The most popular player and best liked is the back up QB at the first sign of problems. No matter what it is.

 

[Cochese]

Yes. I remember. How many games has Felix started? How many games has MB3 started? Choice ran with a vision and determination last year that was a cut above the rest. When MB3 went down everyone got all down in the dumps and thought the season was a wash. No? Well, I'm no Nostradamus or anything but I had faith in Choice. The guy can ball. I don't think he's the next Emmitt or TD but he has the potential to be a very good load carrying RB in the league.

Tashard is cool as hell and is one of my favorite players, but it is a huge risk calling him anything but what he is, a situational runningback. I dont think he has done near enough to deserve to start.

 

[cowboyschmps3]

i don't think it matters who starts let's get a running game going!!!

 

[odog422]

well said

and people are making it seem like barber wasnt doing a good job when he was a starter

He wasn't. His YPC were 3 something.

barber was effective as well. his problems didnt start until romo got hurt and defenses started to play us closer to the line of scrimmage

Not true.

also the toe injury slowed him late in the season. i cant figure out why people on here are acting like barber is no longer fit to start. cant get it.

Yes, a given the toe injury hampered him further, but as I said, he wasn't getting it done prior to his injury and prior to Romo's.

 

[odog422]

Tashard is cool as hell and is one of my favorite players, but it is a huge risk calling him anything but what he is, a situational runningback. I dont think he has done near enough to deserve to start.

He only produced against the toughest run defenses in the NFL when our line was at half strength (no Kosier, Flo playing basically one armed), and with Romo out and then back, but still not 100%. Plus, the passing game was out of sync trying to incorporate Williams.

So what does he need to do to deserve to start if he performed and produced at a high level in the most critical games of the year against the NFL's best overall and top run defenses?

 

[Pokes12]

Great post odog422. Tashard did show his abilities against NYG, Pitts, and Philly. Three great defenses. This show was exceptional considering the injuries and the fact that MBIII and Felix were not available to give him a breather.
Choice is my choice but it does not diminish my enthusiasm for Felix and MBIII and their contributions to the team. We are very lucky to have all three. What we have to do is cultivate the team mentality and get each of them to contribute to the best running brigade.

 

[jday]

time half back. That belongs to T.C.
Tashard showed us all last year that he is the rock steady half back we need.

Let's see him do that for a full season before we annoint him the starter. Granted, he looked great, but he is far from proven.

We need to learn the screen pass and utilize it with all of our three backs.

The screen is a great way to offset a heavy blitzing team, however, you have to have the OL to do this consistently. Unfortunatley, are OL is more built for pass blocking with their size; getting these guys in space and moving them up the field to the second level may pay dividends for the opposing team in the 4th quarter.

I do believe that are trio of back is quite possibly the most talented the league of the NFL has ever seen. The question is rather or not Jason Garrett can use it to our advantage. Based off what I've seen so far, I am skeptical, but this offseason should grant him plenty of time to put a few different methods together to try.

 

[irvin4evs]

Really, Choice was playing at an all-pro level last year. As some have said, this was when our OL was crap and Romo was hurt.

The rest of our offense was totally shot--Tashard was the only thing we had going and he STILL chumped the Giants, Ravens and Steelers. This kid is no fluke. Barber has never produced as well against defenses that tough.

 

[isawoj]

Listen, everyone has their favorites. As a lifelong Tech fan, Choice is my favorite.

MBIII was nowhere near as effective last season prior to his injury as he was the season before. I think Garrett felt a ton of pressure to try and run a feature back offense since Jerry just paid MBIII $45mm.

I'd like to think the coaches would put the best players on the field, but Garrett showed last season he had no idea how to best utilize FJ and TC or was scared not to play MBIII.

The Giants led the league in rushing last season and it wasn't always Jacobs as the lead guy. Garrett needs to take the same approach. Use all 3 in the first half and roll with the best matchups/best producers in the second half.

 

[jday]

Listen, everyone has their favorites. As a lifelong Tech fan, Choice is my favorite.

MBIII was nowhere near as effective last season prior to his injury as he was the season before. I think Garrett felt a ton of pressure to try and run a feature back offense since Jerry just paid MBIII $45mm.

I'd like to think the coaches would put the best players on the field, but Garrett showed last season he had no idea how to best utilize FJ and TC or was scared not to play MBIII.

The Giants led the league in rushing last season and it wasn't always Jacobs as the lead guy. Garrett needs to take the same approach. Use all 3 in the first half and roll with the best matchups/best producers in the second half.

Just to add to the point being made here, Marion Barber is not (nor would any Running Back) going to be effective if the defense already knows what's coming (e.g. Shotgun Draw). His numbers, I think, may have been effected largely from Jason Garrett's vanilla approach to the run. It was like he had no idea how to establish an effective run game and build passing game from the dividends of said production.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Barber is a fumbling BUM!

 

[gmoney112]

It's common knowledge that Barber is not a scat back. Guys aren't afraid to tackle him because he's going to break their ankles, it's because he's going to truck them as hard as he possibly can. The intelligent option would be to use barber in short yard/goalline/and 4th quarter instances. I'd hope to see him take on this role more in the 09 season but he's getting paid starter money so they might try and get the most out of him