RB Melvin Gordon - done??

[vinabolt]

Ironically, big name Wisconsin RBs historically sucks, but a no name guy has been impressive for the mighty Eagles, Corey Clement. They snatched him out of the rookie FA market. They might have the best RB corp in football, with the latest addition of Jay Ajiji.

[madcaplaughs]

I get the Wisconsin running back thing. There are traditionally very strong lines up here in corn fed/cheese curd land (I live in Madison WI). Regarding former WI NFL RB's, I think Dayne would have been better if he had better conditioning in the NFL, and I think James White has been pretty good for NE. None of the previous guys have been elite talents in the NFL though.

Gordon has a good size/speed ratio, and also shows some intelligence as a runner. No, he's not Le'veon Bell, or LT, but he is a good runner. I've also been impressed with his improvement in the passing game. While I see probably a fair number of backs in the NFL I'd rather have, I still think he'll be fine once we get some better blocking.

[Panamamike]

I agree, but it is a VERY deep draft at RB and I think we can add a very talented back in rd 3 or 4. Backs get injured and I like affordable depth at that position. Keep em fresh, improve the line, and smash em to set up play action.

[Charged4Life]

I didn't catch the game until mid-way through the 3rd quarter. How did Gordon look running the ball before that? I liked what I saw of him from 3rd qtr to the end of the game. I thought he ran with more explosiveness than he's shown in quite a while. Or maybe "abandon" is a more apt description. Anyways, I was impressed regardless of how many yards he racked up. He definitely looked strong and confident.

[Formula 21]

No doubt his 22 carries pulled the D in closer and opened up the deep ball.

[blueman]

Gordon plays better late in games, against a tired D. Guess those arm tackles are weak noodles by then.

[whookimane]

One thing gordon does that i cant stand lately, he breaks through the line and then goes sideways(maybe even slightly backward) and takes wat should have easily been a 4 yard run and turns it into a 1 or 2 yard run. I was a big melvin gordon defender for a long time but i am beginning to hop off the defending of melvin gordon train.

[Heatmiser]

Me too. The book on him from scouts when he was drafted was he was no good in congestion at the line, but if he has a clean/decent hole, look out. So far in his career that has turned out to be true. He just does not have the lateral quickness he needs.

Ekeler's power surprises me. He carries guys when he is tackled or burrows through. Something Woodhead could not do. What a find he is and he will just get better and better.

TG

[BlazingBolt]

[Formula 21]

Be smart. Less carries/hits means a longer career.

[bonehead]

Eric Williams is such a douche

[blueman]

Gordon needs to watch film of himself.

[Steve]

To me it says we are getting destroyed up the middle and yet call most of our running plays where we are least effective blocking.

You still have to block the guys in the middle, even if you don't run at them. If we don't sacrifice some runs up the middle, what is going to keep them from spreading out and taking away all the edge offtackle runs?

[madcaplaughs]

You're concentrating strictly on the running. You might also look at the pass blocking. Check out how he's improved there. Did that contribute to the upswing on the tail end of the year? As well, look at total yards. How many players on our team consistently top him in total yards? No, he's not LT in his prime. He's still a pretty good back. He'll get better once the O-line solidifies, and most importantly, plays together for extended periods.