What's Najee's #s gonna be with new rushing game?
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From my 2nd post in the thread:
And Harris isn't that kind of back (just like Bell wasn't).
This doesn't mean he won't be good.
But I do think Najee is still an above average back. But I think the reason isn't because he's an elite runner. He's good catching the ball out of the backfield. By all accounts, he's great at blitz pick up. He's a very good all around back. And I think that makes him above average.
Najee is a good back. But he doesn't have that breakaway ability....
Again, not having breakaway ability doesn't mean he's not a good RB. But it probably does mean that he'll never be elite. But that's fine.
He doesn't stink. He's just not elite. He's probably above average, particularly if you consider his pass catching and blocking abilities and his ability to avoid fumbles.
He's a good back. Just not an elite one. I will never understand why so many people on here want to argue that guys are either absolute trash or elite with nothing in between. Harris is a back that will probably be good as long as he's healthy, but will probably never be great. ...
I think he's a guy with a high floor and a low ceiling when it comes to rushing stats. And he's shown that he can make plays in the passing game too, which is an important asset IMO.
He has been and can continue to be a big reason that we win games by having a high run success rate. But expecting him to suddenly turn into a guy who rips of long runs is unrealistic IMO
My whole point is that several people tend to want to say he's great (comparable to Chubb!) or trash (not a starting RB, should be replaced by a UDFA).
He's good, but not elite.Comment
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Well if you take a look at Chubbs first 2 seasons and Najee's first 2 seasons they are pretty similar.
I'm not saying he is at Chubbs level, what I am saying is that he isn't that far off, yes he hasn't been as efficient as Chubb but behind a good O-line and fully healthy I think he could be right there.Comment
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From my 2nd post in the thread:
My 4th post
My 6th post
My 7th post
My 8th post
My 11th post (I think)
Anyway..I hope you get the picture here.
My whole point is that several people tend to want to say he's great (comparable to Chubb!) or trash (not a starting RB, should be replaced by a UDFA).
He's good, but not elite.Comment
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You said that they did produce similar stats in their first two years. Which is not true.
You also said that you think Najee could produce numbers like Chubb in a similar situation. But that seems very unlikely because you get those kinds of numbers by having lots of very big runs. And Najee wasn't getting big runs at that rate when he was at Bama running behind mostly future 1st round picks. It seems highly unlikely (to me at least) that he'll ever be in a situation as favorable as he was at Bama in the NFL (although it would be amazing if our OL could become that dominant over NFL players).Comment
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But I was arguing that Najee had good yardage because of volume which is the reason I don't think his stats will improve all that much this year. He doesn't get.
Re: Getting numbers as good as Chubbs. Can you show me how that happens without him getting big runs? Or using the same number of big runs that he got at Bama? I just don't think the math comes close to working if they have a similar number of carries.
This is why I wish they reported standard deviation along with YPC. We'd see that Najee gets 3.8 or whatever with low deviation. Chubb (and other backs that rip off big runs) get 5.0 with a large standard deviation.
Or why I wish they'd post the median run as well. Because I bet their median runs are similar. But backs like Chubb that get high averages probably have a long tail in their distribution that runs out to those big distances.Last edited by Northern_Blitz; 06-02-2023, 08:00 PM.Comment
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Maybe "not true" is too strong when comparing their first two years. But certainly missing all the context (which I tried to show you by talking about their actual stats in the first two years).
But I was arguing that Najee had good yardage because of volume which is the reason I don't think his stats will improve all that much this year. He doesn't get.
Re: Getting numbers as good as Chubbs. Can you show me how that happens without him getting big runs? Or using the same number of big runs that he got at Bama? I just don't think the math comes close to working if they have a similar number of carries.
This is why I wish they reported standard deviation along with YPC. We'd see that Najee gets 3.8 or whatever with low deviation. Chubb (and other backs that rip off big runs) get 5.0 with a large standard deviation.
Or why I wish they'd post the median run as well. Because I bet their median runs are similar. But backs like Chubb that get high averages probably have a long tail in their distribution that runs out to those big distances.Comment
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You are missing the point, let me put it to you in an example that I think will be easy to understand. Barry Sanders was a better running back than Emmitt Smith but stat wise they are comparable. This doesn't mean their stats are exactly the same but they are on the same echelon.
That's the reason I object to you saying that Chubb and Najee are in the same echelon because they get the same number of yards when Najee gets like 70 more carries (which was true for both seasons when they had similar yardage totals). This is what I mean when I say that Najee gets yardage because of volume. Because he needs way more carries to get the same number of yards as elite backs. That's why I think it's unlikely that he gets a big jump in yards (what the OP was about). I don't understand how this is so hard to admit.
I think Chubb is an elite RB. If not elite, then certainly the next best thing.
Najee is a good back. But he's not in the same class.
So while you didn't write the words "I think Najee is elite". Saying "I think there isn't much difference between Najee and Chubb" is essentially the same thing (I assume to many, but maybe just to me).Last edited by Northern_Blitz; 06-02-2023, 08:12 PM.Comment
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Sure...both those guys are elite.
That's the reason I object to you saying that Chubb and Najee are in the same echelon.
I think Chubb is an elite RB. If not elite, then certainly the next best thing.
Najee is a good back. But he's not in the same class.
So while you didn't write the words "I think Najee is elite". Saying "I think there isn't much difference between Najee and Chubb" is essentially the same thing (I assume to many, but maybe just to me).Comment
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until people admit that our OL is inferior to CLE’s the last 2 years this argument is a waste of time.
Chubb would not have a bunch of long runs if he ran behind the Steeler OL.Steelers 27
Rats 16Comment
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Come on Cap, It was my point before it was yours [edited to add: or at least since I started posting in this thread].
In just about every post I have on this thread the last paragraph is about how it's OK that he's not elite.
But some on the thread are saying that he's as good as Chubb. Which is silly (I believe you agree with that).
It's Joel (not me) that's looking at the same data and saying that we need to make a change. Or that Warren is better. I don't believe either thing is true (but I'll probably be against extending Najee if he doesn't find the ability to make big plays). I think this is likely because Joel didn't like him coming out (I think he wanted Etienne) and I think he tends to stand by his gut reactions on guys.
I'm saying that he's probably above average, which is good enough (fine as Felt said above). I won't go back and quote all the posts where I say this [edited to add: I did post a lot of them below], but it's probably the last paragraph in most posts I have on this thread.
And I think you know enough about football that you don't think Mixon is the reason for the Bengals having a good to great offense / winning. He's a part of that, but clearly not the centerpiece.
If we had Joe Burrow, I think we'd all be even more comfortable with Najee than we are. If Kenny is that good, then we'd have a fine offense with Warren as the starter too (although I believe Najee is the better back by a fair margin). The potential issue here is that we're building the team to be run first (something I don't think anyone accuses the Bengals of being).
I took issue with the idea that you need to be a speedster to be elite. You don?t.
And backs that gain consistent chunks are most associated with winning.
We DONT KNOW that Najee cannot be THAT guy.
Can he be elite? I don?t know, he has never had a good line.
Terrell Davis ran in the 4.7s at the combine. He is a HOFer who ran behind a great line. Do I think he comes close to his 4.6 ypc average behind our line? Nope.
Can Najee be just as good?
Time will tell.
THAT is all I?m saying, it is too early to place a limiting designation because of a flawed premise that a back needs great speed to be elite.
That is demonstrably not true.Last edited by Captain Lemming; 06-02-2023, 11:00 PM.sigpic
In view of the fact that Mike Tomlin has matched Cowhers record I give him the designation:
TCFCLTC-
The Coach Formerly Considered Less Than CowherComment
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Right, Harris has lost that new car smell. If he doesn't have a break out season he should be replaced. Show me ONE projected starter in 2023 that averages under 4.0 per carry? There are none. Not one of 31 other teams have a project stating RB below this mark. Show me another good receiving back who average under 6.1 yards a reception? See the problem? Harris career average is 3.9 per rush and 6.1 per catch. Harris numbers in year two took a bit of a dive due to Warren taking away some of his snaps. He is in his prime now.
IMO Warren is the better player. He has come back bigger, stronger, and quicker. I say he has a chance to take Harris job. Homers such as Feltdizz say the odds of that happening are less than 1 %.
Wizard focuses on situational football to explain away Harris lack of YPR and YPC achievements, while ignoring other players and trumpets him playing 17 games to barely reach 1,000 yards.Tomlin hasn't won a playoff game in seven years and counting. The earliest will be eight years. I guess that in Art Rooney's II, opinion is worth a 3 year extension.
Our 2024 draft looks to be grade A. Our 2023 draft is an A. The roster is talented, but Mike Tomlin is still the head coach.
*** Mike Tomlin is the best coach since the AFL- NFL merger that has not won a playoff game in 8 seasons or more. It's either him or Lewis. ***Comment
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I literally gave my opinion that ?you are close?. That implies a measure of agreement. I have said on this thread I do not think Najee and Chubb are similar.
I took issue with the idea that you need to be a speedster to be elite. You don?t.
And backs that gain consistent chunks are most associated with winning.
We DONT KNOW that Najee cannot be THAT guy.
Can he be elite? I don?t know, he has never had a good line.
Terrell Davis ran in the 4.7s at the combine. He is a HOFer who ran behind a great line. Do I think he comes close to his 4.6 ypc average behind our line? Nope.
Can Najee be just as good?
Time will tell.
THAT is all I?m saying, it is too early to place a limiting designation because of a flawed premise that a back needs great speed to be elite.
That is demonstrably not true.
Last one.
I think you do need to have breakaway speed in TODAY's NFL.
Guys like Davis (retired 22 years ago) and Bettis (retired 18 years ago) would not be elite backs in today's NFL IMO. The position has changed.
I think your example kind of proves that, right? Because you have to go back decades to find a guy who isn't fast that was considered elite.
And again, the argument that the Bengals have a great offense because they have a RB like Mixon and not because they have a QB like Burrow seems like a pretty big stretch to me.
Now I'm done. Blitzer's right that writing the same thing over and over is silly. And something I do too often.Comment
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