Fair enough, but I think Taylor is more than just a "presence" given he had more yardage and carries than Jones. I think the carry the load question is fair though I agree, committee running is becoming more popular. If Taylor were to be out hurt, could Jones still be as effective getting much more work (although someone else would surely get a few carries, it wouldn't be at the type of ratio Jones and Taylor were doing).
The reason Taylor gets more yardage and carries is cause he is the veteren choice that the Jags respect, who wouldn't just kick him to the curb and are giving him what he can have until he retires. MoJo's carries seemed more to spell Taylor because he's a power back that's gettin' old, but the Jags definitely see his years dwindling, (His presence must not be too much, he only had 6 games with over 20 carries of 15 games played) but they see the toughness, talent, and ability (which again, is underrated) of MoJo so they're just letting him get a feel for the position which is really a good gameplan and path to take which will allow him to get ready to "carry the load" for the Jags (which doesn't mean that he can't already, as was evidenced toward the end of last season for the Jags) rather than just shove the responsibility at him all at once. But if that ain't good enough for ya, how about this.... Well, a presence at RB would be, say playin' behind LaDanian Tomlinson, right? Well, that's just where Michael Turner is, which is where he seldom gets many carries and has never carried the full load, but he was goin' to be a hot free agent aquisition for a team searchin' for a starting RB. Now what is the reason for so much credibility in what he can do? Not that Turner isn't a good back, but does it maybe go back to what I said before about MoJo being underrated about his smaller size at 5'7/212, while Turner has better chance of "carrying the load" because he's bigger at 5'10/237? And to a lesser extent, if committee running is becoming more popular, why should if a guy can "carry the load" have to be asked ever again?
Sorry, but your last line shows you didn't read my post properly anyway. No runner gets every carry and some teams feature another back more than others do but usually, one guy is who the majority of the (defensive) game plan is aimed at. In MDJ's case, as a rookie, he was an unknown in many ways until teams gather film and see how much he features in the game plan week by week. I don't judge guys by size, I judge 'em by how they play but I also consider consistency over a period of time which is why I don't get why anyone would consider 2nd year guys with one full season under their belt as underrated or overrated) for that matter when they haven't show what they can or can't do over a reasonable period of time. When I think of the term underrated, I think of a guy who consistently plays well over a period of time but doesn't get the props he deserves. In the case of MDJ, he was getting a lot of props for his play last year and got a fair amount of credit for his level of play pretty quickly but again, it's one season and the level of consistency over time has yet to be established. I look at guys who have a few 1000+ yard seasons (Jones and Johnson as examples), who have "carried the load" and yet not being the focal point or the exciting part of their team that has gotten a lot of press and/or credit.
Maurice Jones-Drew may be the most underrated, despite how much noise is being made about him. He may be that damn good. My pick, however, is Edgerrin James. He has one bad year, behind a terrible run-blocking O-line, and everyone writes him off. He started to get some pride, instilled into that unit, late last season. Don't be surprised to see him return to the top of the runningbacks list.
Agreed. I'm bias, but Henry is not rated as high as he should be for 2007. Most of my fantasy football playing friends have all stated they got Henry for a STEAL, as most people don't have him listed as a first row pick. As for the experts, they vary -- but few have Henry down for 1500 yards this season, which is very doable with the healthy o-line. ;)
PSID, why we have the whole site...we don't need no stinkin room... In reference to Travis Henry, I know a certain lone Titan fan here that was sick when the Titans let Travis walk...they better hope that decision doesn't come back to bite them in the butt.
I know just bored at work and needed something to type. I stuck till the cleaners get here or it 5 PM.
Yeah, I live in Knoxville right now and that was the thought around here (Travis being a UT product). Henry, barring injury, should have +1400 yards this year, and until they have at least one back over 1000, the Titans will hear about it from the fans.