Archived Thread

Who's the 3rd down RB?

mittenedman : 8/1/2021 5:46 pm

The Giants brought in Dion Lewis specifically for that role last year and even though he was cooked, he still played a lot. We also know a receiving 3rd down RB has been a big part of the Pats recipe for years.

Looking at the depth chart at RB -

*Barkley will be limited early. And he was never the best pass blocker to begin with.

*Behind Barkley:

Devontae Booker
Corey Clement
Alfred Morris *if he re-signs
Gary Brightwell
Mike Weber
Sandro Platzgummer
Elijah Penny
Cullen Gillaspia

I don't know much about Booker - is he a 3rd down RB? I though he was more of an early down guy. Was Clement a 3rd down RB for the Eagles? I'm a bit surprised not to see a more traditional 3rd down RB, even if Barkley were 100%.

Booker is a very blocker .....and has good hands

George from PA : 8/1/2021 5:54 pm : link

Barkley should be a very good 3rd down back

Barkley should be

montanagiant : 8/1/2021 6:00 pm : link

But you can also utilize Toney in that spot.

Barkley will handle the one

Peter from NH (formerly CT) : 8/1/2021 6:11 pm : link

third down we face this year 😆

From what I've seen of Booker . . . .

TC : 8/1/2021 6:16 pm : link

he looks like a pretty good all around RB, and should be able to handle this role well. Morris is fine too, except he looked really slow out of the backfield last season. Don't know what Clement would do.

Saquon would be ideal, except he doesn't block well, and doesn't like running inside, which IMO limits him in this role. That is assuming he gets and is able to stay healthy.

Agree Toney could be an explosive gadget RB in this role if his head is on straight. A little light in the britches but he doesn't seem to mind sticking his nose in.

Lewis was on the field during those situations last year

robbieballs2003 : 8/1/2021 6:18 pm : link

Because we had nobody else. That was the main reason, imo, we spent what we did on Booker. But that doesn't mean it's solely his job. When Barkley is healthy, expect the situation, matchups, and play to influence who is on the field. Imo, there is no one answer in terms of one player.

After wasting money on Shane Vereen and Dion Lewis…

Big Blue Blogger : 8/1/2021 6:30 pm : link

I don’t mind using the #2 back (Booker) in that role, since he has the skills. I think that’s what Garrett mostly did in Dallas anyway, with guys like Tony Pollard, Rod Smith and Morris himself backing up Zeke and filling in on some passing downs. I guess Lance Dunbar was kind of a third-down back, but he never played all that much.

Saquon should be 3rd down back

Payasdaddy : 8/1/2021 6:54 pm : link

A real weapon in space. I expect his blocking to be good enough
Supposed to be out of penn st

reports

Eric from BBI : Admin : 8/1/2021 7:22 pm : link

out of camp have said that both back-up RBs have been impressing with their hands.

RE: reports

robbieballs2003 : 8/1/2021 7:39 pm : link

In comment 15319143 Eric from BBI said:

Quote:

out of camp have said that both back-up RBs have been impressing with their hands.

I'm assuming you mean Clement in addition to Booker, right? Do you know how Clement's pass blocking is? I'm not talking about camp since they haven't been hitting, just in his career. I'm curious.

robbieballs2003

Eric from BBI : Admin : 8/1/2021 8:07 pm : link

Yes, those two. I don't know much about his blocking. Never paid attention to it. Will now, obviously.

RE: Saquon should be 3rd down back

Zeke's Alibi : 8/1/2021 8:21 pm : link

In comment 15319130 Payasdaddy said:

Quote:

A real weapon in space. I expect his blocking to be good enough
Supposed to be out of penn st

Barkley's blocking was never good. It's just that it's incredible overblown because of how good he is everywhere else. It's not like he's a liability to get the QB killed like some guys are (Adrian Peterson was an awful blcoker). He just lacks physicality occasionally for a back his size. Smaller guys generally get around this by cutting, but never see Saquon do this at all. He does do a good job of picking up guys and getting in front, so he's a mediocre. If he's spending that much time blocking anyway, you are using him wrong or too much.

Barkley's blocking is not mediocre

JerseyCityJoe : 8/1/2021 8:37 pm : link

It stinks. People can argue if that is important or not but I tend to think it is.

A 3rd down RB

mittenedman : 8/1/2021 9:23 pm : link

has to block. You can’t just send him out for pass patterns. Lets get real.

If Barkley is in the flat…

Brown_Hornet : 8/1/2021 10:56 pm : link

… someone has to be assigned to him.

I’d keep Saquon on the field.

Ultimately, you want Barkley on the field as much as possible.

Big Blue Blogger : 8/2/2021 5:14 am : link

While he’s on a pitch count, Booker is probably the usual back in 10s personnel. It might even stay that way if Saquon struggles in pass protection.

There are so many interconnected issues. For example, if Golladay and Toney fix our inability to beat man coverage, it will be harder for defenses to just automatically send extra rushers when they see Barkley in the backfield on a passing down, to pin Saquon down as a blocker. If the line starts handling stunts and twists better, and learns how to block a screen play, that will relieve some pressure on the backs. Rudolph will help too.

Clement is bit of a wild card.

Big Blue Blogger : 8/2/2021 5:27 am : link

He showed four years ago that he could be a weapon in the passing game, despite poor clocked speed. Even the Philly staff was surprised by what they had. But after the big performance in the Super Bowl, he kept getting hurt.

IMHO, the lack of certainty by the defense is a huge offensive weapon.

Marty in Albany : 8/2/2021 8:14 am : link

If it were not, no team would ever run a quarterback sneak.

Do you really want your best RB to carry the ball on every single 3d and 2 when everyone in the stadium knows he will be the runner, and then have to rest him on 1st and 10 because he got the snot knocked out of him, or worse under 1000 pounds of defensive linemen picking up 2 1/2 yards?

Wouldn't it be better to put in a fresh guy, who has a different running/receiving style, who will shake up the defense and maybe even cause them to call a time out?

as long as he's healthy it's Barkley.

Victor in CT : 8/2/2021 9:40 am : link

why would you consider anyone else?

It's a good question and one that needs a solution

Jimmy Googs : 8/2/2021 9:44 am : link

if Saquon isn't good to go early on.

Dion Lewis was awful for this team last year, and this role needs improvement. Running backs may be a dime a dozen but we didn't get even get our 10 cents worth with him.