I'm getting sick of reading posts trashing what Shaun has done for the Seahawks, or saying that Seattle should resign him at all costs, so I want to play another little "what if" game.
Let's assume Shaun has jumped to a new team in Free Agency. We'll put him on the Vikings, since they're not in our division, but are in our conference. What now?
Does the front office fatten the offer to Maurice Morris? Do we pick up another feature back through free agency? Or do we look to the draft for his replacement?
Here is the list of current free agent running backs on Seahawks.NET.
There are a lot of people who think that we should get Edge or Jamal Lewis in this situation, but in my opinion, that would be out of the frying pan and into the fire. Instead, I'd like to see them go for a back who younger and has shown some signs of potential, and who may really break out with a new team and a superb offensive line.
Someone like Anthony Thomas, Chester Taylor or LaBrandon Toefield.
Granted, Thomas is just a few months younger than Shaun, Taylor hasn't done much on the ground but catches a lot of balls, and Toefield has a history of injuries, but all three guys should be available cheap.
Plus, if you look at the teams Ruskell has been involved with, the Falcons (Dunn & Duckett) and the Buccaneers (Dunn & Alstott) , you'll see that he likes to make "the beast with two backs", so he may decide to fill the whole vacated by one GREAT back, with two GOOD backs.
So, let's forget about the number of years Shaun has left, or the signing bonus Seattle should give him, or if the Cardinals are telling the truth about not being interested, and let's talk about what you would do to replace him.
Edge is the only FA RB that I feel fits us well...Morris, as well I guess
ReplyDeleteLaBrandon LowerExtremityField is just not as good as people give him credit for
Thomas is overrated
Taylor is very good, and I feel better then Jamal Lewis...but would he really fit our system? Im against power backs for our offense...some say they fit well, but I think the 'i cant fumble unless they hit me' mentality helps a lot more...
Best case scenerio...the draft...in particular if we traded up for DeAngelo Williams, the best NFL PLAYER in the draft...who probably fits with any system (sorry Bush...I have you down as 3rd, behind Ferguson)...Moroney is another one...
I trust the Seahawks could avoid finding a bust RB in the draft...but they said they are leaning towards defense again
While I agree that Edge fits our system the best, I would be severely disappointed if the Seahawks let Shaun walk, and then give a big fatty deal to Edge. That's just not right, which is why I don't see us going after any other "big name" FA RBs.
ReplyDeletePosted by alba
bullseye...there shouldnt be much difference between their contracts
ReplyDeleteShaun is better...but Edge has a year off Shaun's age...so if they got Edge, the could get Shaun...
Posted by adp
I must disagree, while Shaun's a great RUNNINGback, Edge is a great "all around" Back.
ReplyDeleteI think Edge deserves more based on that fact alone, but not a lot more.
Posted by Vinny
You want a cheap replacement for SA who is a terrific blocker, has great hands, is a good goal line and short yardage runner, as well as a hard worker, good clubhouse guy?
ReplyDeleteLook no further than Minnesota's Moe Williams, he is by far better than Toefield Taylor or AderailedTrain.
Still, having said that, if Moe Williams is the best that free agency has to offer, (and he is, outside if Edge, who if we can sign, we may as well just resign SA), then I say look to the draft.
THere are several very good possibilities in the draft.
IMHO it would be smartest to resign SA if it is financially feasable, if not, then look to the draft. If we don't land a decent guy in the draft, (and I don't see how that could happen, but we ae playing the what if game) then get Moe Williams, the rest all stink IMHO.
As for Momo, resign him ONLY if he's both dirt cheap, AND we get a better RB in the draft, or Moe Williams. Otherwise, if anyone thinks that Momo can be the everydown workhorse back here, and that we will still be a playoff team, they are either stoned out of their minds, or stupid.
There would be a HUGE, MONUMENTAL, ENORMOUS, INSURRMOUNTABLE, dropoff, if Momo were our feature back. The quickest way to ensure that we continue the trend of not making the playoffs the year after a SuperBowl loss? Feature Momo as our RB! That will do it!
wasnt Williams in the middle of the Vikings Boat Scandal? Character would be a problem if thats true...
ReplyDeleteand Vin...i honestly thought i typed that, guess i just thought it was implied...but you are right...but since we dont use screens much (not becuase of Shaun, just in general)...a RUNNINGback would be more important than a allaRUNdback : )
Posted by adp
oh, and i do agree that Morris wont survive a full season...we use our RBs alot more then popular consensus...
ReplyDeleteI wouldnt trust another option to SPLIT with Morris---Marquis Weeks...just because, well, we cant just trust him?
I really feel its Draft or Shaun...one or the other...
either way, Vin's gonna be really happy...or really disappointed
OH and Edge, and Alexander will cost about the same are about the same age, but one of them (not shaun) has a very bad knee injury in his recent history.
ReplyDeleteAlso, for those who think that Edge is so darn good, please tell me why Alex's numbers are so much better?!? And don't EVEN try to tell me it's our OLine, because our OLine, until this season, was not noticeably better than the Colts. Granted Edge is a better teciever, but SA is a better runner.
All things considered, if you can find the money to sign Edge, than you may as well sign SA who scores FAR more, knows the system and the OLine, and has zero injury history.
IMHO signing Edge makes ZERO sense.
Marquis Weeks in my opinion is way better then MoMo. Did you guys see the preseason. It was Weeks and Weaver getting all the yards MoMo was crap. He can not be our featured back.
ReplyDeleteI hate all the free agents. Alexander is better then all of them. If we can't sign Alexander in free agency we shouldn't sign anyone.
The draft is where we should get our running back. if we can't trade up lets get Addai. Might be a little early but what the hell they said Lofa was 2 rounds early. Lets also get another RB in the later rounds Harrison from Wazu in the 4th 5th round if he's there. Make them battle it out for starter.
Hell we should draft a running back even if Alexander stays.
Posted by meezy
Somebody who i would love to have is Chris Perry from the Bengals. He was a beast in college and doesn't get much playing time in Cincy. If we lose Alexander trade for him
ReplyDeletePerry has some injury problems...and took a major one late last season I believe...
ReplyDeletePosted by adp
True Perry has been injury prone but when healthy he can be dangerouse in our offense.he can run, block, and catch pretty well out of the backfield. Not sure about his blocking but he does the other two pretty dam good.
ReplyDeletePosted by meezy
Every time I think about this I come back thinking that at the end of the day, Holmy is gonna have some input, and what kind of back has he favored over the years? It hasn't been the SA type...Craig, Waters, Levens, Waters. SA is the annomoly.
ReplyDeleteCould the reason that SA got the "no franchise" promise was because Timmy and Holmy already knew he wasn't their guy, but after signing MH and WJ, it was too late to get value for him?
Holmy's offense doesn't take rushing titles to work. Could SA replacement already be on the roster? Like others have suggested, could the tandem of MoMo and Weaver be the rushing game?
I saw MoMo a lot when he was at Oregon and he was a machine--5+ yards a carry, fast to the hole, not afraid to run up the middle, willing to take a hit, able to get outside. Many of the things SA's critic cite as his flaws. Oh yea, he can catch and block.
Now, MoMo isn't going to win the rushing title. Also he split time with Mr. Wiz-n-ator at Oregon, so I agree banking on him to last an entire season would be a bigger gamble than naming Herden a starter. But what if he split time with Weaver? It's the 1-2 backfield Timmy has built in the past, and it'd be backfield more like Holmy's past teams. And it would be cheap.
Hell, maybe it's MoMo and Weeks. Weaver had some big runs last pre-season, but I was more impressed with Weeks consistent runs. Either way, what would it mean to the offense to have your first down back in on third down every series? What a concept, opposing defenses not being able to sell out to the pass on the 3rd down.
A huge upside would be to free up money. Timmy builds front to back, so maybe with that money Rocky stays, or someone better arrives. Maybe DB upgrades, or signing Manuel in case Ken doesn't return. Or maybe a true deep threat with consistent hands for the offense.
Posted by bokonon
After watching the combine, I�m certain that a few of the good backs will be available for us at the end of the first. Maroney may slip to us, or we pick up Addai, a great all around back, who wowed the crowd with a 4.37. Even if some team trades up to snatch Addai, Calhoun or Norwood at the end of the second would get it done behind our o-line.
ReplyDeletePosted by Anonymous
Monkey, I've gotta laugh at your ability to evaluate a player without ever seeing if he can be successful in the system.
ReplyDeleteDo you think the carries he got in training camp and during the week is the same as him spending actual quality (substantial) time with the number one unit?
That's friggin' insane!
And I have a question....if they do resign Mo and let Shaun go what will that mean to you? Will you assume the FO and Coaches are stupid and can't judge talent and evaluate team needs...or will you admit that you were wrong about Mo, and he never got a 'real' chance to prove himself.
I have to ask, when during his career have we gotten to see him play with the first string with any substancial and meaningful time spent running plays?
I don't recall a time when that's ever happened since Shaun's never missed two games in a row.
Posted by Vinny
Bok - great analysis and just the type of in-depth response I was hoping for...but why do you have to go and bust on my boy Herndon in the middle of it all??!!
ReplyDeletePosted by alba
Vin, if the FO resigns Mo and not Shaun, it will only mean that they liked Mo's contract better than Shauns, and will say absolutely nothing about the talent level. I think the fact that Shaun's started every year of his contract (except the first where he learned behind Ricky) says everything that needs to be said about Shaun v Mo. And I think you made a great point for keeping Shaun. He's never missed 2 games in a row. The man may not get that extra yard every run, but by avoiding that hit, he gets an extra 100-200 a season, and a few extra touchdowns.
ReplyDeleteEdge is out, his contract is going to bbe at least comparable, his age is comparable, and he has the injury. I would be severely disappointed if the FO let the best back in the NFL over the last few years (look at the stats) go and replaced him with someone who's cost is very nearly the same. We have no proof that Edge wouldn't do well behind our line, but we certainly have no proof that he would. And we do have that proof when it comes to Shaun.
If the Hawks let Shaun go (and I still don't think they will), I agree with alba, the only way to replace him would be through the draft. They would have to draft a great RB and a great WR. It's been brought up that the passing game will suffer without Shaun, and I think that the drop in play in the passing game will have to be made up by brining in a great speed guy (like chad jackson).
Posted by PaulieP