Dayne or Alexander?

let alone a first round NFL body. He never should have been in the conversation.

He was a big guy who would get outside and run down the sideline. Didn't think it would translate to the NFL.

In comment 14915129 MOOPS said:

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let alone a first round NFL body. He never should have been in the conversation.

Did Bettis have an NFL body?

I said to everyone who would listen that the Giants would be idiots if they took Dayne over Alexander.

I said to everyone who would listen that the Giants WERE idiots for taking Dayne over Alexander.

I stand by these two statements.

Because Dayne was big, they thought they'd use him as a power back. It was trying to shove a square peg in a round hole. He was never a power back. He could be pretty good if he got the ball in space, but not good running through people or breaking tackles. I think he was unhappy and Fassel couldn't reach him; he was asked to do something he was bad at; his failures made him even more unhappy.

Also, his rookie season he was at least adequate, and he declined from there.

The way the Giants approached Dayne is exactly opposite from what Joe Judge says he wants to do. JJ wants to look at players and figure out what they can do to help him win. Fassel's staff looked at Dayne and tried to put him in a role he wasn't good at and when he didn't succeed, they wouldn't change course.

In comment 14915133 BestFeature said:

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In comment 14915129 MOOPS said: Quote: let alone a first round NFL body. He never should have been in the conversation. Did Bettis have an NFL body?

Let's see. Let's compare the pillsbury doughboy's twin brother to a bus.
Yeah, I'll go with a bus.

Hated the pick then. Wanted no part of Dayne.

there was remarkable wear on those tires.

take a handoff, run into the line and fall down, as if there was an invisible force field tripwire along the LOS that only affected him.

Hated Dayne but if we pick Alexander Tiki might not have had the career he did.

loved Alexander. Dayne looked to big for me.

I cant swear to it because it was 20 years ago, but I think John Abraham or Stockar McDougle is who I wanted

looking back at this draft I didn’t realize the Giants were picking 11, pretty high. Dayne was a disappointment.

Wanted Dayne. I was so mad when the Giants went Dayne. Probably the most pissed I have ever been with a draft pick. I knew Dayne was never going to make it.

the Giants didn't do him any favors in the o-line department. Dayne needed room to get going and teams would stack the box every time he was in the game. Dayne needed an o-line of maulers but the Giants o-lineman profile at that time was not a bunch of maulers.

I was fooled by Wisconsin’s great oline. He was running through huge holes and then got a head of steam after 10 hands and that’s when he was hard to take down. I didn’t know enough at the time what I was really looking at.

Now when I saw Barkley, I was not fooled.

In comment 14915140 MOOPS said:

Quote:

In comment 14915133 BestFeature said: Quote: In comment 14915129 MOOPS said: Quote: let alone a first round NFL body. He never should have been in the conversation. Did Bettis have an NFL body? Let's see. Let's compare the pillsbury doughboy's twin brother to a bus. Yeah, I'll go with a bus. Hated the pick then. Wanted no part of Dayne.

Huh? They had basically identical bodies. The nickname has nothing to do with it.

I disagree with the statement that most wanted Dayne. I think most fans did not expect Dayne to be anything special. I think I remember hearing that the reason they didn’t take Alexander was because they thought he was too similar to Tiki. And, as mentioned, they wanted Thunder and Lightening. Unfortunately, Dayne was not really a big time power back. He preferred dancing around too much. This was one case, I think, where the fans knew more than the professionals

Seemed like a much more complete back.

He was generally serviceable and his 2nd year in NY and his 2 years in Houston were pretty good for a mostly backup guy.

sad but true

What a bust. Alexander was so much better

...instead he ran like he was running into a ditch. He just would fall down after 3.5 yards.

All they did was waste some of Tiki 's prime by playing him.

...was "Dayne for one". Because that's what you'd hear almost everytime he took a hand off and ran straight into whomever was directly in front of him

In comment 14915205 jnoble said:

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...was "Dayne for one". Because that's what you'd hear almost everytime he took a hand off and ran straight into whomever was directly in front of him

Who was it that coined Dayne for no gain?

NFL. Those big holes created by the Wisconsin line let him run to daylights often, but that doesn’t exist in the NFL. Bad hands too if I recall correctly.

That wanted Dayne. I think there was an equally large and vocal group that wanted Alexander. And the rest were non-RB advocates. It was a lively and heated discussion.

The Dayne group defended the pick at first and then sheepishly recanted or disappeared/changed handles as his career trajectory played out.

I didn't have strong feelings one way or the other as I came here to learn about college players in those days, but I remember being unimpressed and disappointed when he finally took the field. Soft, slow runner who couldn't catch or block. wtf.

In comment 14915144 flycatcher said:

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take a handoff, run into the line and fall down, as if there was an invisible force field tripwire along the LOS that only affected him.

Random things that stick with you years later: I remember going on the Giants.Com message boards years ago and someone had a post just titled "Ron Dayne".

When you opened it the body text just said "Is get the ball and roll into the back of your lineman's legs a set play?"

Hated the Dayne pick. He was a terrible NFL back, never had a 1,000 yard season and played soft for a guy his size. There is no comparison between the 2 backs. Alexander had 5 1,000 yard seasons with his best being 1,880.

and made my poor wife-to-be watch the draft with me. And this was back when it seemed like every team milked every second out of their 15 minute pick time limit.

We're married over 17 years now, but she still hasn't forgiven me.

and could not see how he was not the pick..I was right, they were wrong.

But I was pretty certain that they would take Dayne, who I thought would be a really bad choice for several reasons.

When they made the Dayne pick, I threw something soft (a cap? a sweat shirt?) in disgust, yelling in frustration that they had picked the wrong guy.

This sticks with me to this day as a low point in GIANTS draft history.

I worked with two guys who went to Wisconsin and were Giant fans. They both hated the pick.

I did not feel he would dominate in the NFL like he did NCAA.

That said, don't think Alexander would have had the success here that he had in Seattle.

He wanted Dayne because he thought he was the big back who would complement Tiki. Apparently he had never seen him play in college, where his oline was opening holes you could drive a truck through.

I wanted Dayne over Alexander. I thought Alexander's skill set was too similar to Tiki's and that Dayne would wear down a defense in the first half and Tiki would run all over them in the second half. I thought we would be unstoppable. I didn't watch much college ball back then but boy was I wrong!

But what do I know?

But like most picks, I supported the Dayne pick because I trusted the front office over my amateur opinion. I guess I got one right.

was Julian Peterson. I remember thinking prior to the draft that he would have been gone by our pick -- when it turned out he was available, I was definitely disappointed we went with Dayne over him.

wasn't a terrible football player, he was a terrible first round pick.

That distinction should be noted.

Dayne was a terrible first round pick, and a very bad football player for the Giants.

If not for having been a first round pick, I don't believe a player who averaged 3.5 YPC would have even stuck as a backup for 4 years. He was deeply ineffective.

His peak as a Giant in his second year was 'not terriblle.'

If I remember correctly, I was a fan of neither Dayne nor Alexander. Peterson was my favorite until his wonderlic score was reported (I think it was 12 or something and I like my linebackers heady). That was when I started leaning towards McDougle.

I didn't think Dayne would be a good NFL back because he was a big back that didn't run with power. But I didn't want them to take a RB at all, I was a big fan of Barber and thought he could be the answer at RB.

In comment 14915148 Greg from LI said:

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I cant swear to it because it was 20 years ago, but I think John Abraham or Stockar McDougle is who I wanted

It's funny I also remember wanting someone else, but I don't recall who. But, I admit to preferring Dayne to Alexander, if given the choice. I never envisioned Thunder and Lightning though, because that's not the back he was. I thought it was more because Tiki hadn't exactly panned out yet. In retrospect, Alexander would have been the better choice to replace Tiki, but Dayne on board helped Tiki improve.

In comment 14915204 Victor in CT said:

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All they did was waste some of Tiki 's prime by playing him.

Tiki hadn't come into his own before they drafted him. There were still questions about him.

I cannot lie. But i've learned a lesson.

I jsut don't think he was crazy enough and his vision sucked.

Athletic ability is overrated at this point. Everyone in the NFL can run and jump and move. It's whether you can see the field and process things that counts. Dayne couldn't see shit.

and was not able to change direction without losing speed. Essentially he was too slow for the NFL. You would think Giants scouts and coaching staff would be aware of the speed difference at the NFL level.

I have an authentic Dayne jersey in blue. Yeah, I know. Haven’t needed to wash in almost a couple of decades. May bust it out this year on Halloween.

Got it as a Xmas gift his rookie year from my new bride, as the 2000 Giants headed to the playoffs. The excitement was palpable.

Turns out his career and the marriage ended up in sync. 🤣

Steve Hutchinson, Walter Jones, Mack Strong blocking for him. When they left, Alexander came back down back to earth with a loud thud.

In comment 14916275 Manny in CA said:

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Steve Hutchinson, Walter Jones, Mack Strong blocking for him. When they left, Alexander came back down back to earth with a loud thud.

...shhhhhhhhhh

would have been ok with Alexander, he seemed like more of a chalk pick. Ron Dayne was perhaps the draft pick I was rooting against most in my life as a Giant fan.

In comment 14915136 M.S. said:

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I said to everyone who would listen that the Giants would be idiots if they took Dayne over Alexander. I said to everyone who would listen that the Giants WERE idiots for taking Dayne over Alexander. I stand by these two statements.

I never thought Dayne was going to be a star in the NFL. He was a great college player but I never thought his game translated to the NFL. He was productive in his rookie season and wasn’t a bust. He just never should have been a first round pick; maybe a third or fourth rounder.

At Seattle, he and Mike Holmgren clashed, big-time.

Dayne, by nature, was very humble and accommodating; Tiki (of the big ego) was already here. NY would have never been big enough for the two of them.