Hey Faithful readers, Michael Schottey here with the next installment of the incredibly labor intensive Depth Rankings. This time the Running Backs are up and I’ve figured out how to get it all in one post! Questions or comments can be sent to me at Lions@drafttek.com or left as a comment that I will respond to promptly. Remember to check back Sunday afternoon for my latest installment of Ramblings.
NFL Running Back Depth Chart Rankings
Minnesota Vikings: (A+)
Adrian Peterson/Chester Taylor/Maurice Hicks/Albert Young
Living in Minnesota, I’ve come to respect the Vikings. I feel that with McKinnie and Hutchinson on the left side of the offensive line, anyone could have the success these guys have. On top of all of that however, is the fact that Adrian Peterson could be one of the most special running backs in recent memory—his only downside is his injury history. Chester Taylor is a darn good consolation prize, as he was a top-10 back in 2006.
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Here is division 3 of 8 of my season expectations series. Today I’ll focus on the AFC East, home of the juggernaut that is the Patriots…and little else. New England has won or tied for 1st in the division every year since 2001, the year of their first Super Bowl victory. From 1960 through 2000 the Patriots won (or tied for 1st) only 7 times. In the last 7 years they are 7 for 7. Elsewhere, the Jets have been up and down, rotating playoff seasons with losing seasons the last 6 years. The Bills have not made the playoffs this millennium (last appearance being part of the 1999 season) and haven’t won more than 9 games since then either. The Dolphins are coming off their worst season in franchise history and have not played meaningful games in January since the 2001 season (January 13, 2002 to be exact). Luckily for all of you this is the division that I know the most about. I am the Dolphins Correspondent for this site after all… (more…)
My fellow correspondent Michael Schottey had a wonderful article on his thoughts as to why Brett should have left well enough alone. And I completely agree. Brett shouldn’t have unretired. But Thompson should have given him his release. Even though I think what is going on in Green Bay’s front office right now is absolutely ridiculous, it didn’t have to be that way. Brett shouldn’t have come back, but he did. And the Packers were ridiculous for ending it right there, one way or the other.
As GM, ( STOP LAUGHING !! ) I would have made one of two VERY QUICK decisions:
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Or, How To Trash an Era and a Legend
In the Brett Favre drama, I don’t believe it, but I’ve actually come around to an entirely difference perspective from the one I initially entertained just a few weeks ago. I was rather negative on the idea of Brett coming back after retiring. I felt it was unfair to the team overall, and to Aaron Rodgers specifically, to suddenly un-retire and expect to be handed back the starting job just a few weeks prior to the start of training camp. I felt Favre should have bit the bullet and honored his decision to retire and let it be.
However, as the story evolved, I didn’t quite expect the Packers to be so resistant to at least allowing Favre the opportunity move on once Green Bay had announced their decision to stick with the young prospect as the future of the team. What’s more, the decision by the front office (publicly) to tab Rodgers as the #1 quarterback on the team – even if Favre were to return for camp- was a bit of an unnecessary slap. And that’s when I started to change my opinion on the matter.
Group 5: The Beergogglers: You were certainly hoping for more but at this point you just need a warm body. You’re more than willing to look past the faults in fact you may not even be able to see them if you wanted to.
San Francisco 49er’s: (D-)
Alex Smith/Shaun Hill/JT O’Sullivan/Kyle Wright
I wish there was a wide receiver in the Bay area to make one of these guys float to the surface but Issac Bruce is the best they have. Someone will probably end up looking better than he is in Mike Martz’ high octane offense. Alex Smith is wonderfully talented and will benefit from Martz’ tutoring. Shaun Hill did really well last year in limited time. O’Sullivan is getting a little old to be a project but he has starts under his belt. Kyle Wright shouldn’t last long but if he gets on the practice squad he could have a chance to reinvent himself before his 9th life runs out.
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Group 4: That “other” girl next door: There’s nothing really overly attractive about these ones, and you sure as heck want one of the other girls on the block. But they’re available and maybe just maybe you’ll get lucky once in a while.
New York Jets: (D+)
Chad Pennington/Kellen Clemens/Erik Ainge/Brett Ratliff
I am not a Chad Pennington fan, I know 5th grade girls who can sling a ball farther than the Marshall product. At his best though, he is an efficient machine that can always complete a high percentage of passes. With the right talent around him he can win 10 games. Kellen Clemens is a more prototypical Quarterback and may win this training camp battle. Erik Ainge has a high upside but never tapped into it at Tennessee. Brett Ratliff is around till August.
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Group 3: Blond Bombshells: On first look these teams should have been much higher on the list but they are *ahem* a little too top heavy with not enough to back it up.
New York Giants: (C+)
Eli Manning/David Carr/Anthony Wright/Andre Woodson
Eli Manning has matured to the point where he can be among the NFL’s elite and actually belong there. With Plaxico back in NY, Eli has a chance to get even better. David Carr, for all his faults, is still the same guy that was a #1 QB a few years ago. People forget that Texas was REALLY bad while he was their starter and he managed decent numbers while getting plastered to the turf the entire time. If Carr somehow finds his inner child he could be a decent QB again. Anthony Wright is more down than up but can win a game. Andre Woodson is a project that few teams could wait on, but the Kentucky product won in the SEC and that gives him a point in my book.
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