Oliver

[Panamamike]

Don't get too excited. The media guys on ESPN (first take?) say the only way a guy like Oliver has a game like he did is because the Jets defenders gave up because the offense was so bad.

I'm just happy for the little guy. Seems like such a nice and humble kid. He is not very fast, but he gets a lot of positive yards and he can make people miss. And he runs with a lot of power because he is very heavy for someone that short. And he is not chubby like Tolbert; guy is ripped.

TG

I wouldn't out too much stock in their opinions. They all had to google his name to find out who the hell he is. Lots of good backs have gone undrafted.

[chris9341]

Well I appreciate all the reputation comments about Oliver. To be honest though I have made my fair share of predictions that didn't turn out so good. On the old ESPN Boards I once said watch out for Kassim Osgood is going to be a really great WR for us, and what I should have said was that Kassim Osgood is going to be a really good special teams player for us, probably one of the best we ever had. I also said that Legadu ( im not even going to try to spell his last name ) was going to be really good for us also. My next player for people to keep an eye on is Jerry Attaochu. Not this year but by his third year I have no doubt he will be starting and trust me when I tell you, you will be glad that he is starting because I honestly see him being a Dwight Freeney type of player.

[chris9341]

One thing I noticed is that Oliver & Mathews does something Brown doesn't they accelerate quickly to the hole, when there is a little crease Oliver and Mathews gets to, although some time Mathew vision is questionable and he slams in the back of his blockers. For Brown to be effective the hole has to be open. Brown has more no gains and negative gains behind the same line Oliver and Mathews ran behind. Oliver is a powerful dude he took some hits and maintain balance. You talk about your next man up the depth test and test past. If Brown is out looks like only two healthy backs on the roster

Mathews- Injured
Woodhead- IR
Brown- Next Man Up, good pass protection/receiving, running not effective- Concussion
Oliver- Next Man Up, Man old Man getting the job done and more
Draughn-Now in Rotation

Speaking of Draughn I thought he did an excellent job of backing up Oliver yesterday. If Oliver has another game like he did this week and once Mathews comes back I don't see how you don't make him the backup to Ryan Mathews.

[Asela]

OIP or Oliver?

Hahaha, I was just thinking the same thing reading this thread

[KNSD]

I thought Tolbert danced too much. I always wanted him to run more north and south...especially north.

.. into the closed end of the stadium. You probably wanted him to run more south when the Chargers are driving towards the scoreboard.

[RTPbolt]

Hopefully Donald Brown is back for next week. That said I seriously would consider an equal load among the two back and possibly lean heavier on Oliver if he's successful. I do think he hits the hole more quickly than Brown, not that Brown was bad. Brown has a better gear to the edge that I thought and has some decent moves and vision. I think we will be ok provided the OL can continue improving on the run blocking.

[chris9341]

Hell, no! We don't want to insult him by insinuating there's a resemblance to the redhead!

Hey I happen to liked Billy Joe Tolliver along with Marion Butts. oh and I was a huge fan of the Natrone bomb, Natrone Means.

[Asela]

I thought Tolbert danced too much. I always wanted him to run more north and south...especially north.

While Oliver is not Sproles, he does seem more of that Sproles/Tolbert combo. I love the wiggle he has that is EFFECTIVE in getting the defender to give a little ground as Oliver powers through.

On the 50yard catch and run, (1st move was slight and not sure how effective), his 2nd move to get the defender off balance/out of position didn't cost him much in speed, and in his 3rd move to juke the defender cutting back, he accelerated out of it. Also on his big run down the left hand side, again he put on a little move to get the defender off balance without sacrificing speed. You're right, Tolbert danced too much and it took him too much time to get his momentum going again. Sproles had top notch speed.

Oliver seems to have a nice combination of speed, power, and a little wiggle to his game. I don't know how good his vision is in the hole, those were nice holes and lanes that opened up on his big runs. In the open field, you could see he has a great feel to set up defenders and gain extra yardage.

What I've always disliked about Matthews, is that he's pretty much a straight line runner, he never tries to juke a guy downfield to break it for even more yardage. For a big guy, he's fast physically but not the most mentally swift (is my impression).

If the OL doesn't open up any holes, I don't think any of our RBs could make much yardage. That's why Woodhead was so crucial (to me) for the team, because he was able to create in space, our move the chains guy and big play threat.

[Beerman]

adamlevitan: UDFA Branden Oliver no fluke. Beat out 6th-rounder Grice w/ 35-161-1 preseason. Oliver 310-1535-15 at U of Buff last year. 1st-team All-MAC.

[Asela]

If Oliver continues to recognize the blitz pickups, he will get his opportunities. That being said, I'm going to be surprised if defenses keep trying to blitz Rivers that often. Arizona was the only team that had some success and even then only won because of a botched snap. Rivers has put on a clinic beating the blitz this year.

Arizona sent the house 3 straight times on our last possession. It was very effective, our OL had no solution for it, and Reich didn't do anything to move the pocket, roll out Rivers, or just throw a fade like pass to a spot (on the sideline). With our OL a mash unit, I'm actually surprised more teams are blitzing Rivers.

If anyone saw the leaping defender that hit Titan's QB Locker and got flagged yesterday, strategically its not a bad move for the Browns' staff. So if a DC sends an all out blitz that gets you a 15 yard flag on the QB hit but knocks your opponent's starter out for the rest of the game, it may be worthwhile.

[Beerman]

Arizona sent the house 3 straight times on our last possession. It was very effective, our OL had no solution for it, and Reich didn't do anything to move the pocket, roll out Rivers, or just throw a fade like pass to a spot (on the sideline). With our OL a mash unit, I'm actually surprised more teams are blitzing Rivers.

If anyone saw the leaping defender that hit Titan's QB Locker and got flagged yesterday, strategically its not a bad move for the Browns' staff. So if a DC sends an all out blitz that gets you a 15 yard flag on the QB hit but knocks your opponent's starter out for the rest of the game, it may be worthwhile.

The problem there IMO, was that Rivers kept trying to hit the crossing route vs. the A gap blitz. He has since gone outside or to the flats. The offense seemingly has made a ton of adjustments since that first game. Arizona really played a good game defensively and gave Reich a lot of stuff to make adjustments on.

[Formula 21]

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