PFF Grades for Texans

[Whatever]

(11-15-2023, 02:20 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: That is not really the case.  The problem as I see it is that they are not all-purpose backs, and thus being misused when asked to perform as one.  We have seen flashes of Evans' capabilities as an offensive weapon, but he's by no means an NFL pass protecting back.  Henderson is a bit of a head scratcher, as he's a hard, stong runner and decent returner, has the build to be a decent blocker.  For years I thought that the issue with him was the injuries, but when I seen Burrow snapping at him for not knowing his assignment, it all became clear to me what his issue really was.  Either he needs much more involvement so that the offense stays fresh in his mind, or he needs to be down the road. Chase Brown has that potential to be an all-purpose back in the NFL, but he's out injured for the year.

I guess what I am saying is that there are physically talented backs on the bench, the staff is just doing a bad job of working them into the games in ways to take advantage of their individual skill sets. 

If you want an all purpose RB, you have to get them early.  If you wait til later in the draft, you'll get guys that can only do one thing well.  At that point, you either tip your hand playing to their strengths or struggle with asking them to do things they can't do at an NFL level.

Football IQ is a draftable trait.  RB's have to understand a variety of assignments, from finding holes to pass routes to blitz pickups.  You wait, you may find yourself with a guy who looks the part, but is in his 5th year and still doesn't know the offense.  I saw another instance of this Sunday where Joe was frantically gesturing at Stanley Morgan presnap trying to get him to go into motion.  Chris Evans was academically ineligible for a year.  What are the chances he knows the playbook inside and out?  

Almost every skill position player shows flashes at some point.  How many guys have we misevaluated through the years because they showed flashes?  Of these Day 3 picks who showed flashes, how many became steady contributes and how many were just ST'S guys?  When you have a bad roster, you have to hope and pray some of these guys who had one or two highlights a year step up.  When you've got a playoff caliber roster, you fix the issue and be done with it.