Ron Dayne contrast with Andre Williams

but it seemed to be overlooked somehow.

I agree to a point. The OL was really bad. But, he was also used more as a short yardage/power back. There is a reason the backfield was nicknamed Thunder and Lightning. Don't forget, this was still a time when Tiki was trying to establish himself as a full time, every down RB.

Dayne did have some success in both Denver and Houston when he received consistent carries. Although, in both instances they came as the result of an injury to the starter.

that he barely made it to the field in the SB. Didn't he come in for something like 3 snaps, which was not the offense that got them to the SB in the first place.

Fassel's "Smarts". (-:)

In comment 11751034 Matt M. said:

Quote:

Coming out, most scouting reports still gave Dayne a decent chance at success. However, it was made clear he was NOT a power back. Some warned that the Heisman should not be overvalued when considering him. He had value, but necessarily what you expect from a traditional Heisman winner. He was not being touted as a "fatty with happy feet" as you put it. But, scouting reports were consistent in pointing out his mammoth OL that created big holes. To accomplish what he did, there still had to be a lot of talent, and talent worthy of an NFL draft pick.

I'm not saying Dayne was seen as can't miss or was a good NFL talent. But he did have talent, did have some sporadic sucess and stayed in the league a while. I just hate the revisionist history about Dayne. I remember on here when Dwayne Jarret and Brian Robiskie were highly touted can't miss guys and Steve Smith was sure to bust. And I can remember myself touting Adam Terry as a 10 year starter at Left Tackle and Matt Jones as an unstoppable WR. I really doubt there was a lot of fans, scouts, and analysts that viewed Dayne as poorly as many of the fans on this thread say they did at the time (and still do).

On that, I agree. Although, he was not the most popular pick, I think it is very revisionist history to sit here and say he was destined to suck in the NFL and it was very clear to everyone. That simply isn't true.

Dayne simply wasn't a good NFL back. Sure, feeding Ron F'n Dayne the rock would have prevented that D kicking we suffered through in that SB.

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RD ran a zone scheme in college where we ran a man scheme here. They are two totally different styles which was a big downfall for Dayne here. I remember Dayne in Houston having a big game and it wasn't a surprise as they were a zone team. Like others have said, Dayne like to bounce a lot of plays. That's what happens in a zone scheme. You get started in one direction, when you see/anticipate a hole you put your foot in the ground and go. In a man scheme you have to trust that your whole will be where it is designed or be agile enough to adjust mid-play. Dayne never anticipated the hole which led to him bouncing a lot of plays.

To is that both players were not known for their pass catching prowess, which can tip your hand a bit in the pros when they are/were in the game.

I did not say feeding him the ball over and over would have won that game. What I said was, we had an offense where he was on the offense for a fairly consistent number of snaps each game. He got on the field for 3 snaps and we ran an offense completely different than what got us there and we refused to adjust during the game. The coaching staff was completely intimidated by the Ravens D before the game even started. But, that is a whole other story.

That doesn't change how Dayne was used, which was more short yardage/power situations. I never thought he was going to be an elite back in the NFL. But, I do think he had enough talent to be a decent back and he showed flashes of that once he left here.

Many interesting comments appreciated. I never saw Dayne perform as a power back in the NFL. It seemed when he cleared to some open space he had good speed. 20 days to camp and I can't wait..My 44th season as a Giant fan.

My guess is that he is most reminiscent of Joe Montgomery. And Montgomery would've been a real good one if it hadn't been for injuries.

I wanted Stockar McDougle (or Julian Peterson).

heart. You can't blame the scouts, they had no idea he was going to cash it in. Dayne was an aberration.

I recall TC saying when he took over that he wanted Dayne to stop dancing around when he got the ball. Long story short, Dayne was off the team 12 months later.

as I recall is that Alexander and Tiki were considered "similar" backs by the Giants and that Dayne could provide more of a between the tackle and large back runs to compliment Tiki. I was upset, I had followed Alexander at Alabama and felt he was the better talent and should've been the pick. Big mistake and obviously Dayne never lived up to expectations and Alexander had the better career.

was better than Dayne at nearly everything. He didn't have the Big 10's sis boom bah and fawning press behind him.

Williams is a very good back and a solid value in the 4th round. I think he he was somewhat under the radar at BC and will be the starter getting the bulk of the carries part way into the season.

I've ever seen. I can't recall how many face first pathetic flops over the line of scrimmage he had, but it probably set the all time Giants record. As has been said many times already, sticking your shoulder into a guy and saying GTF out of my way is much more about desire than size.

If he surprises the world and becomes a Terrell Davis (former 6th rounder), why then, I think we'd all be ecstatic.

Davis showed he could play at a high level, but he was mostly the product of one of the Denver zone blocking system and outstanding members of the O-line . In the mean-time Ron Dayne labored behind Mouse McNally's pretenders (save for Pro Bowler Ron Stone, none were worthy to wear the uniform).

Same can be said of Alexander. He sure looked ALL-WORLD for a while didn't he ?

Then, over-night he looked PATHETIC; he didn't have Pro Bowl - ALL PROS Steve Hutchinson, Walter Jones and Mack Strong blocking for him.

The way they just gave him #27 and he RUINED the jersey.. Thank God Jacobs redeemed it..

"Ron Dayne runs through the line like he is looking for a soft spot to land"

He lasted until the sixth round because a string of nagging injuries raised doubts about his durability and toughness - doubts that his coach at Georgia did nothing to alleviate. He also had a terrible Combine, which was only partly offset by a good Pro Day.

Spotting the diamond buried on his depth chart, and starting him as a rookie, was one of Mike Shanahan's best moves. While it's true that some mediocre running backs have thrived in that system (even Dayne redeemed himself somewhat in Denver and Houston), nobody has come close to the four-year run Davis put together before tearing up his knee. By 1997, defensive coordinators were scheming to stop Davis, not Elway.

You are on firmer ground about Shaun Alexander. The loss of Hutchinson and (later) Strong brought him down to earth. Tiki Barber was probably more deserving of the 2005 MVP. By most measures, though, Alexander was in a different class than Ron Dayne, and his decline had as much to do with injuries as the depletion of Seattle's blocking. Doesn't mean the Giants should have drafted him - just that he wasn't entirely the product of the guys in front of him.

There was at least one year that he came into camp in shape, and he still couldn't even push the line or break out of an arm tackle.

I think he just had lousy muscle tone. Some people with large muscles don't have good muscle density and tone, and I think he was one of them. He looked a whole lot stronger than he actually was, so when he hit the line, he just got pushed back.

I don't know if the lack of muscle tone was from laziness in the weight room, but as I said, there was one year where he seemed to come in in shape, and it didn't seem to matter much.

And yes, in college he ran through holes that were a lot wider than he was. Frequently by the time he hit contact, he had a head of steam that helped him use his weight, that offset the lack of real strength. And, of course, that also helped offset the fact that he had as much ability to cut as an old, rusty butter knife.

didn't seem to possess the tough guy mental drive he needed to succeed at the NFL level. You have to be in it 100%. Training, diet, exercise, study...it all has to be at the top level to do well in this league.

IMO, Dayne was sort of laid back. He was a bad choice made by Fassel when he determined he had to draft Dayne after watching him in the hula-bowl.

Dayne and three days rain. Williams and snow and watch him go.