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Running Back Discussion for 2019

B

bamaslammer

All-American
Jan 8, 2003
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Just redo'ing my roster for 2019 and in the wake of Jacobs leaving we are a little thin at RB. Absent injury none of this matters but we stayed healthy all last season so chances are next season is going to be an ER ward. Najee is a bell cow. If he's healthy he's a thousand yarder for sure. He did not do anything in the passing game which makes me wonder if there is an issue there or if they just did not use him because of Jacobs.

Brian Robinson to me is an unknown at this point. I'm not sure if he's good or average. He didn't see many holes when he was in the game this season so it's hard to tell.

Jerome Ford was the lowest ranked RB recruit we've signed in years. Don't know if he's any good

Trey Sanders is a five star so I expect him to be either #2 or #3 depending on how well he picks up blocking assignements.

Kellan Robinson is a scat back and hasn't signed with us yet so I don't know if he will be there or how he could/would be used.

So it looks like to me we are 2 turned ankles from possibly being in a place I don't want to see, and this in a year we need to get back to the basics. Thoughts?
 
J

JustNeedMe81

Hall of Fame
Sep 30, 2011
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Huntsville, Al
Re: Runnng Back Discussion for 2019

bamaslammer said:
Just redo'ing my roster for 2019 and in the wake of Jacobs leaving we are a little thin at RB. Absent injury none of this matters but we stayed healthy all last season so chances are next season is going to be an ER ward. Najee is a bell cow. If he's healthy he's a thousand yarder for sure. He did not do anything in the passing game which makes me wonder if there is an issue there or if they just did not use him because of Jacobs.

Brian Robinson to me is an unknown at this point. I'm not sure if he's good or average. He didn't see many holes when he was in the game this season so it's hard to tell.

Jerome Ford was the lowest ranked RB recruit we've signed in years. Don't know if he's any good

Trey Sanders is a five star so I expect him to be either #2 or #3 depending on how well he picks up blocking assignements.

Kellan Robinson is a scat back and hasn't signed with us yet so I don't know if he will be there or how he could/would be used.

So it looks like to me we are 2 turned ankles from possibly being in a place I don't want to see, and this in a year we need to get back to the basics. Thoughts?
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Robinson isn't unknown. This kid can play. He will fight to get yards. I expect Harris to be the main guy while Robinson/Ford get a serious look. One of them will back him up this fall. Trey Sander will get some playing time this fall, but he needs to learn how to block as all RBs does.
 
J

JustNeedMe81

Hall of Fame
Sep 30, 2011
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Re: Runnng Back Discussion for 2019

oh, one more thing. Trey won't be #2 this fall. He has to earn his way up the depth chart. We will be okay. Najee has an opportunity to show that he can keep himself on the field. He has proved that he can do the job the last two years.

I also think we will see Slade move to RB for this year..
 
R

RollTide_HTTR

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Feb 22, 2017
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Re: Runnng Back Discussion for 2019

I mean, 2 players getting hurt at any position = a problem. You can't have the depth we have at WR at every position. We are at least 3 deep at RB with 2 5 stars. I'm not going to worry about the possibility of us losing 2 guys at any position.
 
GrayTide

GrayTide

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Nov 15, 2005
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Re: Runnng Back Discussion for 2019

I made this point in another thread about passing but it applies to our RBs also. We have all talked about Tua's tendency to try for the home run pass maybe too much. For some reason Tua, when under pressure, does not seem to see or find the RB safety valve receiver. This type pass can help with avoiding sacks and, while not as glamorous as the over the top to Jeudy, can keep drives alive and in some instances be a big gainer. IMO, our reliance on the big play pass has hurt us in the big games.
 
mlh

mlh

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Apr 28, 2004
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Re: Runnng Back Discussion for 2019

It all starts up front. If the OL gives them room to run, all of the RBs we have will look like stallions.

Najee will be the main guy, backed up by Robinson and Sanders. Wasn't Sanders the top-rated RB in the nation? He may be the #2 guy as the season progresses and he learns his blocking assignments.
 
CrimsonForce

CrimsonForce

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Dec 20, 2012
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Re: Runnng Back Discussion for 2019

Najee better get at least 20 touches per game. He's earned the right after waiting patiently for 2 years. He could've gone anywhere but stayed with the program. The coaches need to reward that. Doesn't hurt that he's far and away our best RB also..
 
Superdad

Superdad

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Sep 17, 2009
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Re: Runnng Back Discussion for 2019

Najee Harris is a talent, no doubt. I know he has seen somewhat limited action, but I would have thought we'd have seen him break a few long runs by now. I also would rather see him run around guys instead of hurdling them.
 
B

bamaslammer

All-American
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Re: Runnng Back Discussion for 2019

RollTide_HTTR said:
I mean, 2 players getting hurt at any position = a problem. You can't have the depth we have at WR at every position. We are at least 3 deep at RB with 2 5 stars. I'm not going to worry about the possibility of us losing 2 guys at any position.
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The reason for my concern is this inexplicable thing where the majority of our injuries always happen at one or two positions. The mathematical probability of have them all land on Linebacker in 2019 are off the charts so i figure it's going to land somewhere.
 
R

runtheoption22

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Nov 10, 2003
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Re: Runnng Back Discussion for 2019

I bet Najee and Brian get close to equal carries early on. Brian is a real talent.
Trey Sanders will probably be your clear #3.

IF IF IF we can hold on to Kielan Robinson, he will be a Kamara type. He's a crazy talented player, especially in space.
 
B

bamamick

All-American
Feb 22, 2005
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Re: Runnng Back Discussion for 2019

Very difficult to keep three future NFL players on the roster at any given time.

Rtr
 
KrAzY3

KrAzY3

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Re: Runnng Back Discussion for 2019

On the other hand, Alabama might have a legit power back and find a way to get a hard couple of yards again (that doesn't involve the wildcat).
I liked Harris and Jacobs, but they were a lot like Yeldon and Drake in that they were very talented backs but not the type to just physically impose their will.
 
R

RedWave

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Sep 26, 2000
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Re: Runnng Back Discussion for 2019

KrAzY3 said:
On the other hand, Alabama might have a legit power back and find a way to get a hard couple of yards again (that doesn't involve the wildcat).
I liked Harris and Jacobs, but they were a lot like Yeldon and Drake in that they were very talented backs but not the type to just physically impose their will.
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I always saw D Harris as a Mark Ingram type. Seems both like to make you hit them at angles rather than head on. As for Jacobs not physically imposing his will, I will just leave this here.

 
T

teamplayer

Hall of Fame
Jul 31, 2001
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cullman, al, usa
Re: Runnng Back Discussion for 2019

As others have said, I like Harris and Robinson as one and two. I think they both will have monster years if we give them the ball. I think Sanders will definitely get carries, and he may earn even more than I expect if he works hard and learns his assignments. The other guys I am not as familiar with, but I do like hearing that some of them may have some nice ability in the passing game. There's my two cents worth of opinion.
 
KrAzY3

KrAzY3

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Re: Runnng Back Discussion for 2019

RedWave said:
I always saw D Harris as a Mark Ingram type. Seems both like to make you hit them at angles rather than head on. As for Jacobs not physically imposing his will, I will just leave this here.
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We're talking NFL talent here, obviously they can make plays.

Did you notice the red zone problems? I guarantee you that Derrick Henry would have had a couple of touchdowns. That's not a knock on Jacobs or Harris, but they're just not the same style runners. Najee is physically more capable of just imposing his will, this is not something that translates well to the NFL (ask Trent Richardson) and could even be a liability because it's not feasible, but Alabama over the past several years had quite a few dominant power backs that couldn't be stopped on short yardage situations.

I would not put Damien Harris or Josh Jacobs in that category, and the offense felt similar with TJ in there to, now may be that's identity of the offense, blocking, etc... but when Ingram, Trent, Henry, even Lacy or Bo were going they didn't need wildcat (though Ingram did run it sometimes) to get short yardage situations, I can tell you that much. I didn't have to hold my breath hoping those guys got one or two yards.
 
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B

bamaslammer

All-American
Jan 8, 2003
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www.kirkwoodhouse.com
Re: Runnng Back Discussion for 2019

CoachJeff said:
If you don't know how good Brian Robinson is I would question your ability to evaluate Alabama football.

Robinson is a stud.
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Well when he was a true freshman I saw real power in his running, kind of like Jacobs, but this past year not so much. Now that might be due to several factors. One our OL was somewhat of a disappointment when it comes to run blocking, two, he was usually behind those who couldn't beat THOSE offensive lineman out, and three sometimes in year two a player gains a little size via muscle and for running backs sometimes they regress in year two and then finally round out to top form in year three.

Or perhaps he's just not as good as you think, or I'm a blind fool.

Keep in mind we were supposed to wipe the floor with Clemson so I'm not in the mood to believe the sky is always blue.
 
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