Lendale White

[Bronco Billy]

Darren Sproles?

[Bronco Billy]

I give. I could name some more guys who were prolific RBs for a year in college but I don't think I'm zeroing in on who you're thinking of.

[kingfish247]

I give. I could name some more guys who were prolific RBs for a year in college but I don't think I'm zeroing in on who you're thinking of.

So you don't agree, sheesh. Don't have to get your panties in a bunch.

 

And you've definitely changed my mind by listing a bunch of bust RBs. Come to think of it, most RBs don't do much of anything in the pros. At least not enough to warrant FF consideration. I think I'll go with this new NO-RBs theory now since only about 30 out of 170 or so are worth anything at any single point throughout an average NFL season.

Edited July 16, 2008 by kingfish247

[Bronco Billy]

So you don't agree, sheesh. Don't have to get your panties in a bunch.

 

I go commando. If something ever were to get in a bunch, I'll let you know.

[kingfish247]

I go commando. If something ever were to get in a bunch, I'll let you know.

[Bronco Billy]

 

The whole point of my being an ass (other than for my own amusement) was to make a point that college numbers don't mean squat when it comes to skill transfer to the NFL level.

 

I like Johnson better than I like Mendenhall & K Smith, but I do think he'll struggle at his size in getting a lion's share of the work for any team. I also think that a lot of his success in college was at the expense of a conference that is pathetic at stopping the run. When you look at his body of work against BCS schools, his numbers drop dramatically - right into mediocre territory. That can be attributed in part to his team mates being overwhelmed, though. Another thing I really don't like about him is that he has small hands. As soon as I hear that comment, the first RB that comes to mind is William Green.

 

We'll see. I've sure been wrong enough in the past. But I see Johnson's upside as a CoP/gimmick RB with some return potential.

[BeeR]

Take for example the stats of another all-purpose back with similar numbers... 6,541 all-purpose yds, 3,169 rush yds on 433 attempts, 1,301 rec yds, 95 recs, 42 total TDs, and returned kicks. Anyone care

No.

 

 

 

Good post but IMO you're reaching. So is DMD if he thinks CJ will equate to another Barber or Westbrook (not that it's impossible, just not buying it).

Edited July 16, 2008 by BeeR

[DMD]

No.

 

 

 

Good post but IMO you're reaching. So is DMD if he thinks CJ will equate to another Barber or Westbrook (not that it's impossible, just not buying it).

 

No, far too early to say that CJ will be anything more than an occasional complement to White but my point is that just because a player is probably too light for heavy duty work doesn't neccessarily mean that he'll never be more than an afterthought. CJ had the success in college and has everything other than line-busting size going for him. We'll see what actually happens.

[geeteebee]

Anyone care to take a stab at who?

 

 

Dan Pastorini?

[Avernus]

 

The whole point of my being an ass (other than for my own amusement) was to make a point that college numbers don't mean squat when it comes to skill transfer to the NFL level.

 

I like Johnson better than I like Mendenhall & K Smith, but I do think he'll struggle at his size in getting a lion's share of the work for any team. I also think that a lot of his success in college was at the expense of a conference that is pathetic at stopping the run. When you look at his body of work against BCS schools, his numbers drop dramatically - right into mediocre territory. That can be attributed in part to his team mates being overwhelmed, though. Another thing I really don't like about him is that he has small hands. As soon as I hear that comment, the first RB that comes to mind is William Green.

 

We'll see. I've sure been wrong enough in the past. But I see Johnson's upside as a CoP/gimmick RB with some return potential.

 

I don't follow College at all....but I'm pretty decent at picking up rookie RB's....

 

I just see what team they went to because the reason that most College RB's are dominant is due to the team that surrounds him as well as the system...

[kingfish247]

 

The whole point of my being an ass (other than for my own amusement) was to make a point that college numbers don't mean squat when it comes to skill transfer to the NFL level.

Dude, I know.

I never said they were the end all be all indicator of skill transfer to the NFL. I was just making a point that C.Johnson did in fact play football in college. He played quite a bit. He didn't just show up at the NFL Combine and run real fast. Fast is a bonus but for 4 years at ECU he seemed to know what to do with a football.

 

No.

Good post but IMO you're reaching. So is DMD if he thinks CJ will equate to another Barber or Westbrook (not that it's impossible, just not buying it).

I don't think it's such a reach that as a complement to White, Johnson could be FF worthy. Especially in a PPR. And given White's plodding pace and nagging injuries... that C.Johnson could eventually get the better end of the share arrangement.

 

I see this as a year Fischer will be looking for anything to spark the offense. For any other playmaker to step up with VY. There is no one like that on their roster other than C.Johnson at the moment...

 

Crumpler--meh, he had a good run but is really no more than an average NFL TE. At best 40 or 50 yds per game and maybe a TD ever 3 games.

White--plodding 2nd round pick who averaged under 4yds per carry last year. Longest run of the season was 28 yds. I give him points for playing through the knee problem but it always seems to be something with him.

Henry--showed flashes of what he could do but was relegated due to inconsistency and a failed drug test.

Gage, Williams, and McCariens--There's not a true WR1 among them. At best, more like a group of borderline WR2/3's

 

The opportunity will be there. We'll see what happens.

Edited July 16, 2008 by kingfish247

[Bronco Billy]

Dude, I know.

I never said they were the end all be all indicator of skill transfer to the NFL. I was just making a point that C.Johnson did in fact play football in college. He played quite a bit. He didn't just show up at the NFL Combine and run real fast. Fast is a bonus but for 4 years at ECU he seemed to know what to do with a football.

 

Dude - before last year he was nothing more than a mediocre RB in a mediocre conference. He exploded last year.

 

314 yds rushing at 4.0 ypc, 176 yds receiving in 2006

684 yds rushing at 3.9 ypc, 356 yds receiving in 2005

561 yds rushing at 4.2 ypc, 236 yds receiving in 2004

 

With the conference he plays in, those are hardly 4 years worth of stellar play. I thought you knew something about this guy.

Edited July 16, 2008 by Bronco Billy

[Chavez]

Bennett... he was a track star but seemed like a decent RB coming out of Wisconsin. Of course, he was a RB running in a system and behind an OL that allowed Dayne to win the Heisman. I'd say quite a few people were fooled into thinking Bennett and Dayne were something they weren't. Of course that's not to mention that Bennett is more known for his injury issues than anything else.

Bennett tallied almost 1300 yds in '02; I think it's pretty apparent that while he DOES have track speed, he also has football skills, and is/was a legitimate NFL-quality back. The main reason he's been a disappointment is, as has already been pointed out, he can't stay healthy.

[piratesownninjas]

When they drafted Chris Johnson, the Titans were committing to a committee backfield that will rely on White for all the heavy lifting and goal line duty but undoubtedly insert Johnson into the lineup enough to impact White's numbers. I would expect WHite to score about as often as last year but have lesser yardage.

I really disagree with you here DMD. I think that it was more of a signal that Tennessee doesn't have much faith in Chris Henry. At worst, I see the rook getting a lot of the touches that Chris Brown had last year. I think 12-15 touchdowns out of White isn't out of the question and a slight uptick in total yards from White. I think he'll get at least the same amount of carries, and this year he won't be playing with an injured knee.

Edited July 16, 2008 by piratesownninjas

[CiscoKid]

IMO, Johnson is more of a proven football commodity/prospect than Henry or Bennett coming out of college.

Take for example the stats of another all-purpose back with similar numbers... 6,541 all-purpose yds, 3,169 rush yds on 433 attempts, 1,301 rec yds, 95 recs, 42 total TDs, and returned kicks. Anyone care to take a stab at who?

 

While I don't really think it means that much, I'll go with Bush.

[BeeR]

Bennett tallied almost 1300 yds in '02; I think it's pretty apparent that while he DOES have track speed, he also has football skills, and is/was a legitimate NFL-quality back. The main reason he's been a disappointment is, as has already been pointed out, he can't stay healthy.

Nah - when perfectly healthy he was still just a 1-trick pony (speed). If he got some room he could fly, but he had/had no power, no moves, etc and etc. Johnson seems similar to me, but it's admittedly an impression on limited views.

 

All that said, I'm not saying he won't see his looks, but I don't think it'll impact White a lot - in fact I think his speed/change-up he gives can help sustain more drives, so it's more total RB carries for TEN but White's stats stay basically intact.

 

or not.

[tonorator]

so, you know, lendale. what do you guys think?

[Bronco Billy]

so, you know, lendale. what do you guys think?

 

Barring something stupid, which White has shown himself to be imminently capable of, he ought to be a good #2 FF RB. With his lack of pass catching ability and TEN obviously looking for a running mate for him to press the edges, it's hard to see much upside beyond that, though. Still, very good value for where he can be had in drafts.

[piratesownninjas]

so, you know, lendale. what do you guys think?

1250 total yards 12 touchdowns

[CMac83]

I thought I was pretty bullish on LenDale, but some of the projections already posted are even higher than mine. I have LenDale projected out at 1200 combined yards and 8 scores - Pretty much a repeat of last year's numbers. Will Johnson steal touches? Absolutely, but people forget that Chris Brown got 100 carries for Tennessee last year, and LenDale still got his 300 as well.

 

The fact that guys like White and Thomas Jones are usually available in round 5 of 12-team fantasy drafts right now shows the folly of taking your RB2 or flex back in round 3. There's only a very minimal drop-off from guys like Earnest Graham and Willie Parker, who typically go a round or two earlier.

[kingfish247]

Dude - before last year he was nothing more than a mediocre RB in a mediocre conference. He exploded last year.

 

314 yds rushing at 4.0 ypc, 176 yds receiving in 2006

684 yds rushing at 3.9 ypc, 356 yds receiving in 2005

561 yds rushing at 4.2 ypc, 236 yds receiving in 2004

 

With the conference he plays in, those are hardly 4 years worth of stellar play. I thought you knew something about this guy.

When did I say he had a "stellar" 4 years?

 

I don't have some major inside info. It's info that anyone can find on his NCAA.org stats page. In 4 years, limited in his 3rd year, he amassed almost 7,000 all-purpose yards. By my count that's 5th most all-purpose yards in FBS history. Whether that's "stellar" is certainly open for debate. All I'm suggesting is that 7,000 all-purpose yards suggests that he did participate in a sport in college. And that sport was called football. A few other things worth noting... in 2005, they completely switched the coaching staff and offensive system. In 2004, it was the last season of one of the NCAA's recent ugliest teams (3 wins in 2003 and 2004, 2 of those over Army).

 

Also, it sounds as if having an outstanding final year before being drafted is some kind of knock against him. Just this year Stewart, Mendenhall, Smith (to name a few)... are all guilty of as much. So you'd have the RB get worse in his 3/4 years in college?

 

I don't disagree that he's not a prototypical NFL RB from a lesser conference school. I don't disagree that it will be a huge challenge for him to overtake White. If anything, he's shown to be a capable all-purpose RB at the college level. He's versatile and has good speed. In other words... everything that Lendale White is not. Conversely, White is everything that Johnson is not. As such, I think he's perfectly capable of filling a complementary role to White.

 

Beyond that, we'll see what happens.

[piratesownninjas]

I thought I was pretty bullish on LenDale, but some of the projections already posted are even higher than mine. I have LenDale projected out at 1200 combined yards and 8 scores - Pretty much a repeat of last year's numbers. Will Johnson steal touches? Absolutely, but people forget that Chris Brown got 100 carries for Tennessee last year, and LenDale still got his 300 as well.

I still see him getting 300 carries as well, and with him being in shape and on two healthy knee's, I see no reason why his YPC shouldn't go up.

[Scooby]

When did Tiki Barber or Brian Westbrook ever break tackles? And neither of those "under-sized" backs had the college success that CJ had.

They were SHORT, not undersized, both weigh over 200 and are bowling balls...Chris Henry is no little back either, but has off field troubles surfacing. Expect Lendale White to get almost all of the endzone TDs, now we just need Young to throw the ball downfield. Lendale was very impressive last year and Tennessee's defense should keep games close for Lendale to keep running the ball all day.

[DMD]

They were SHORT, not undersized, both weigh over 200 and are bowling balls...Chris Henry is no little back either, but has off field troubles surfacing. Expect Lendale White to get almost all of the endzone TDs, now we just need Young to throw the ball downfield. Lendale was very impressive last year and Tennessee's defense should keep games close for Lendale to keep running the ball all day.

 

Both are short but Tiki Barber and Westbrook barely clipped 200 pounds officially and probably didn't outside of the game program. Barber likely did not exceed about 195. Let's not forget the performance of Warrick "180" Dunn for several years.

 

That all said, I just drafted LenDale White in the 5th round of a draft and now I have to go back to get Chris Johnson sooner than later.