The Full-time RB Experiment w/ Gibson Needs to End

[turtle28]

Let’s be honest, a lot of us thought when they drafted Gibson in 2020 that Turner would use him as a weapon, far differently than as a bell cow RB. Turner’s plan for Gibby was flawed since his rookie year. Cutting Adrian Peterson was stupid. AD could’ve helped Gibby develop more as a pure RB as a rookie. Gibby’s rookie year, AD should’ve been the bell cow & Gibby should’ve been return man/change of pace/WR weapon.

You want to solve our return man problem? Make Gibby our kick off returner the way Brian Mitchell was. A fast, quick twitch & think return man who can bounce off tacklers and get more yac that way than the 190 lb receivers.
 

“I’ve said it elsewhere on the board, but I believe that the drafting of Brian Robinson allows Scott Turner to optimize - rather than maximize - the use of Antonio Gibson in his offense. Last year, Gibson averaged over 16 rushing attempts and 3 reception targets per game. In my opinion, that’s far too much utilization for a guy who basically hadn’t played running back until coming to the NFL. I’d far prefer to see him utilized like Cordarelle Patterson was last year, averaging about 10 carries and 4 targets per game. If that results in Gibson netting a couple hundred less yards from scrimmage over the season, so be it.”

His conventional carries should be dropped by, at least, around ¹⁄₃ - with Robinson picking up much of the difference. A significant number of his receptions should come while lined up as a wide receiver, likely most often in the slot, where he can get the ball close to the line of scrimmage, with some separation, and use his elusiveness to his advantage. And finally, Gibson should be deployed as a kickoff returner (and, perhaps, a punt returner) some this pre-season to see if he’s able to perform more effectively than our pretty weak, current, options.

If you think any of those things can’t be done effectively, you need to take a look at Gibson’s college highlight reel.“

 

Edited August 16, 2022 by turtle28