Trade Zeke

[J Shank]

On 7/19/2019 at 12:08 AM, matt79511 said:

If we pay Zeke this offseason, we should be able to move on in 2022, with him somewhere in the 2100-2300 touch range for his career, going on age 27. He doesn’t have a history of knee issues like Gordon or Gurley and seems to do a good job of protecting his body at the end of most runs, so him breaking down by then shouldn’t be an issue. And another suspension would void his guarantees in addition to him losing whatever salary he was set to make in those games.

So honestly the biggest issue I would have with paying him is essentially that it would signify a continuation of our antiquated approach to the game. It’s not Zeke’s fault that running the ball on 1st and 2nd downs to set up 3rd and short is a bad approach to offense- again, he is a fantastic player, but justifying the investment by (over)using him suboptimally is one of this team’s biggest problems.

In other words- it’s not that RBs don’t matter, that this team is somehow better off without Zeke. It’s that, philosophically, if you’re building your team around giving the ball to a bellcow RB 350-400 times a year, “imposing your will” on the defense or what have you, you’re doing something wrong. But if Moore finds a way to use him more creatively, in down/distance situations that are more conducive to offensive success, then I do think he *could be* worth the $15M/yr investment.

... but I would probably rather keep Byron and Jaylon and draft an RB if it comes to that. At any rate, no one’s trading for him, or rather no one is offering enough to make it worth it simply from an optics perspective

The best way to beat Mahomes, Brees, etc... is to keep them off the field. Pair that with the fact Dlines are getting lighter and faster to combat the passing trends, I actually see our philosophy of smash mouth football as quite great. 

In fact, look at the top 2018 rushing teams and then look at the 2018 playoffs. People seem to forget that football is still football. Punch em in the mouth. Bully them. Make them quit.

[DaBoys]

If we had semblance of a passing game then our dominant rushing game wouldn't feel like such a waste. 

 

Still, to finish in the final 8.......

two out of three years...

Relying on the run.....

 

 

Can't be a complete waste

..

 

 

 

[matt79511]

1 hour ago, J Shank said:

The best way to beat Mahomes, Brees, etc... is to keep them off the field. Pair that with the fact Dlines are getting lighter and faster to combat the passing trends, I actually see our philosophy of smash mouth football as quite great. 

In fact, look at the top 2018 rushing teams and then look at the 2018 playoffs. People seem to forget that football is still football. Punch em in the mouth. Bully them. Make them quit.

There is no correlation between TOP and win percentage. Most of those teams are as productive in the run as they are because their pass game keeps them on schedule and ahead in games. The rest of this is just platitudes, propaganda basically. Of course it’s important to have strong offensive and defensive lines, doesn’t have much to do with this discussion though.