You mean other than their the Lions?
I wouldn’t bet on it.
Actually, of the two backs, Chester Taylor is more capable of carrying the team by himself than AD, I think.
If you’ve ever seen AD try to pick up a blitz on a passing down, you’ll know what I mean. On passing downs, they still can’t afford to leave him in. Swapping in a back like Taylor at least keeps the defense guessing to a small degree, since the offense still has an option to run, and Taylor is an excellent blocker, which makes him all that much better for screens.
Chester ran for 1200+ yards before we picked up AD, and still almost ran for 1K AD’s rookie year.
If AD gets hurt, you’d lose maybe 25 yards rushing a game. But you’d probably pickup of efficiency of the passing game on 1st and 2nd down, and probably drop about 10-15 sacks, as well. Given the combination of Brett Favre and 43 sacks given up by the VIkings last year, that might not be a bad thing.
Meh. Taylor usually goes out on a pass pattern anyway so I’m not sure how much extra value he provides as a blocker. Besides, when Peterson is in the game they usually have a fullback in, right? If you’re running a passing play you can keep the fullback in to block.
Well, yes, other than that. I would argue that the Lions had better offensive talent last year than Miami did in 2007, and their defense wasn’t that much worse.
Chester Taylor is without a doubt, the best running back in Minnesota not named Adrian Peterson. If your hypothesis is true, then AD shouldn’t even be starting. Somehow, I doubt that he’ll be moved to the 2nd team.
Peterson outrushed Taylor by 544 yards over his first season as a starter (vs. Taylor’s first and only). That’s 34 yards per game- or the difference between Minnesota’s 17th-ranked offense last year and Chicago’s 26th-ranked one.
The Vikings were ranked 19th last year in 3rd down efficiency, or pretty much exactly where they were ranked in other major offensive statistics (17th in yards per play, 18th in first downs per game, 17th in yards per game).
They were 12th in points per game, though.
Chester is a very solid, all-around back, and he’s probably a starter on any other team, but he’s not a homerun threat on every play the way Peterson is. Chester Taylor would have goten a first down on that first play from scrimmage in the Houston game, but he doesnt have that ability to step on the gas and outrun the angles for 75 yards the way AD does. AD has also bulked up slightly in the off-season and worked on his blocking to become a better 3rd down back.
If the Vikings lost Peterson, they would be ok with Chester, but they would need to rely more on the passing game. Defenses don’t have to be afraid of CT taking it to the house every time he gets the ball and can back up off the line more.
That isn’t my hypothesis at all. I’m simply saying that Taylor is a more balanced back. That might be more valuable for carrying a team than sheer running ability.
Watch this video, at 40 seconds. Watch Peterson deftly pickup the blitz. Not.
Don’t get me wrong. I loooove Peterson. But it ain’t Schnelkor’s fault he can’t pickup a blitz.
Yes, but if Peterson wasn’t around, Taylor would have had more carries. (And vice versa) It’s a zero sum game. Look at their averages(from that year). Taylor - 5.4, AD - 5.6. At 40 carries a game, relying exclusively on one vs the other is only about 20 yards difference.
I assumed (incorrectly apparently) that you’d be willing to give up AD’s 25 yards to pick up increased passing efficiency and 10-15 fewer sacks per year. Especially since you said “that might not be a bad thing”.
There is no doubt that Peterson is not a blocker. He could improve 100% from last year and he’d still be average. In his defense, he’s never been asked to before getting to the NFL. In high school and college, the choice of plays was easy. Give it to AD and get out of the way. Jason White owes his Heisman to AD.
Well, Taylor does have 2 80+ TD runs to his name. Which is 2 more than AD. :eek:
But I think he did have better blocking the year he carried the torch. AD makes this line look far better than it is.
His blocking will come around. He’s a tough guy, and he’s not afraid of contact. It’s just going to take a couple of years to go from never having blocked at all to learning how to pick up blitzes and pass block at an NFL level.
Besides, he can take plenty of heat off the quarterback on play-actions and screen patterns too. No matter where he goes on the field, defenders have to follow him.
A starter on every other team? He might be a starter on a dozen or so teams- might.
He’s not better than: LaDanian Tomlinson, Larry Johnson, Steve Slaton, Marion Barber, Ryan Grant, Matt Forte, Willie Parker, Willie McGahee, Brandon Jacobs, Brian Westbrook, Clinton Portis, Michael Turner, Frank Gore, DeAngelo Williams, Ronnie Brown, Thomas Jones…
Although I would take Taylor over several of these guys, I believe that that was a bit of hyperbole on Dio’s part.
Which ones? I didn’t put anyone on the list who I thought was borderline.
Off the top of my head: Larry Johnson, Willis McGahee, Willie Parker, Thomas Jones. i think these would be definite borderline with Chester Taylor.
God dammit. Stop making predictions about the Lions. Kevin Smith would have led the league in rushing last year if you didn’t jinx him.
Start talking about the Giants or Patriots, plz.
All four have earned at least one Pro Bowl trip. Taylor hasn’t even been able to earn a starting job.
That wasn’t a prediction, just an observation. Obviously I don’t think the Lions will win 10 games- and note that I’m not saying anything about 24K this year.
I know. I’m just kidding you, although you did jinx the Lions to an 0-16 season.
I did predict that the Lions would have to get better sooner or later. I didn’t specify a season. 