Ranking the NFC East RBs
1. Redskins- Clinton Portis is a top-5 back. He did a good job last year of showing he wasn’t just a product of the Denver system. With that said, you really don’t know what the running game will look this year with new OC Al Saunders. He did a great job in Kansas City but how quickly can the redskins offense pick up the new scheme? If they do a good job of picking it up pretty quickly, Portis will have a monster year, if there is an adjustment period, I still expect Portis to have a great season but he might not have the best season of all the division backs.
2. Giants- Tiki Barber has been absolutely phenomenal for the Giants the last three seasons. Career year after career year. I fully expect another good season out of Tiki if for no other reason than Eli getting better. The Giants might not rely has much on the running game if Eli in fact is improving, but Tiki’s importance and influence is still going to be the key to a successful season for the Giants.
3. Cowboys- Julius Jones needs to stay healthy. It is as simple as that. He has the talent, the speed, and the quick moves to actually be a better back than either Portis or Tiki. But he needs to be able to put it together for a full season. If he doesn’t Marion Barber III will be the starting running back. He is not as fast as Jones and doesn’t have the moves, but he is a more punishing runner that doesn’t go down on the first hit, definitely a red zone back. The expectation is that the line will be good enough and strong enough to open holes and either Jones or Barber will have a good season.
4. Eagles- There is no idea how important the running back position will be for the eagles this season. It certainly wasn’t important last year as the eagles basically refused to run the ball. Westbrook was hurt and that definitely contributed to the low running numbers, but even with a healthy Westbrook by how much would the numbers have increased? The Eagles are probably going to have a hard time if Westbrook is not healthy because if/when he goes down there isn’t a lot of depth, they struggled last year without Westbrook but was that because of his absence or because the Eagles had other important injuries and distractions? The Eagles running game is not going to be impressive at all this season, and you can guarantee that if the Eagles struggle this year there will be plenty of calls from fans and media for the Eagles to run the ball more.
2. Giants- Tiki Barber has been absolutely phenomenal for the Giants the last three seasons. Career year after career year. I fully expect another good season out of Tiki if for no other reason than Eli getting better. The Giants might not rely has much on the running game if Eli in fact is improving, but Tiki’s importance and influence is still going to be the key to a successful season for the Giants.
3. Cowboys- Julius Jones needs to stay healthy. It is as simple as that. He has the talent, the speed, and the quick moves to actually be a better back than either Portis or Tiki. But he needs to be able to put it together for a full season. If he doesn’t Marion Barber III will be the starting running back. He is not as fast as Jones and doesn’t have the moves, but he is a more punishing runner that doesn’t go down on the first hit, definitely a red zone back. The expectation is that the line will be good enough and strong enough to open holes and either Jones or Barber will have a good season.
4. Eagles- There is no idea how important the running back position will be for the eagles this season. It certainly wasn’t important last year as the eagles basically refused to run the ball. Westbrook was hurt and that definitely contributed to the low running numbers, but even with a healthy Westbrook by how much would the numbers have increased? The Eagles are probably going to have a hard time if Westbrook is not healthy because if/when he goes down there isn’t a lot of depth, they struggled last year without Westbrook but was that because of his absence or because the Eagles had other important injuries and distractions? The Eagles running game is not going to be impressive at all this season, and you can guarantee that if the Eagles struggle this year there will be plenty of calls from fans and media for the Eagles to run the ball more.
posted by The Gryphon at 6:13 PM
<< Home