***OFFICIAL*** MAURICE JONES-DREW THREAD (1 Viewer)

BigSteelThrill said:

Maurice Jones-Drew says "NO" to steroid use., -=Lights out=-

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The Man with the Plan said:

In NFL not fantasy where would you rank MJD among running backs? I think he's easily in the top-10.

LT

Westbrook

AD

Gore

Jackson

Portis

MJD

Brown

Addai

Taylor

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TheFanatic said:

The Man with the Plan said:

In NFL not fantasy where would you rank MJD among running backs? I think he's easily in the top-10.

LT

Westbrook

AD

Gore

Jackson

Portis

MJD

Brown

Addai

Taylor

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Wha?

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The Man with the Plan said:

TheFanatic said:

The Man with the Plan said:

In NFL not fantasy where would you rank MJD among running backs? I think he's easily in the top-10.

LT

Westbrook

AD

Gore

Jackson

Portis

MJD

Brown

Addai

Taylor

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Wha?

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Yeah. I guess I could have put LJ or Barber ahead of Taylor. It's pretty close between them though. I didn't like what I saw from LJ last season but I should have more faith in him having a bounce back season. Barber I'm not sure about. He's good but I don't know if he can be a workhorse. We'll find out.Even with all that being said I still think Fred Taylor is among the best running backs in the NFL and along with Maurice Jones-Drew make the best RB tandem in the league.

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The Man with the Plan said:

I'm not talking about fantasy. I'm talking about reality. I think both MJD and Fred Taylor are two of the top-10 running backs in the NFL today. I think that neither MJD or Fred Taylor are two of the top-10 fantasy running backs. Unless one of them gets hurt of course. Then either one of them becomes a stud and another becomes a super-stud.

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TheFanatic said:

The Man with the Plan said:

TheFanatic said:

The Man with the Plan said:

In NFL not fantasy where would you rank MJD among running backs? I think he's easily in the top-10.

LT

Westbrook

AD

Gore

Jackson

Portis

MJD

Brown

Addai

Taylor

Click to expand...

Wha?

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Yeah. I guess I could have put LJ or Barber ahead of Taylor. It's pretty close between them though. I didn't like what I saw from LJ last season but I should have more faith in him having a bounce back season. Barber I'm not sure about. He's good but I don't know if he can be a workhorse. We'll find out.Even with all that being said I still think Fred Taylor is among the best running backs in the NFL and along with Maurice Jones-Drew make the best RB tandem in the league.

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When was the last time two RB's from the same team finished in the top 10? I've been doing this since 1995 and have never seen it happen...

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EBF said:

switz said:

GDogg said:

Drew has proven that he's an elite talent at the highest level of football.

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Looked like it his first season... not so much his second. The jury is still out, let's hold off nominating the guy until he can carry it more than 170 or so times. His YPC dropped 1.1 over one season. His TDs dropped by 6.All in one season where teams had some solid film to study.

He's good, but "an elite talent at the highest level of football"?

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You're a good poster, but sometimes your stubborness works against you. You've always been an MJD skeptic, so of course you're inclined to downplay his success. On the flipside, you've always been an Addai fan, so you exaggerate his accomplishments.I didn't really like either of these guys coming out of school and I don't own either of them on any of my dynasty teams. That said, I'm far more impressed by what MJD has accomplished so far in the NFL. If you're going to continually defend Addai as an elite back, I think you almost have to do the same for MJD.

Your arguments against him are weak. His stats were very strong last year even if they weren't quite on par with his stellar rookie campaign. 4.6 YPC is great and 9 rushing TDs is a lot for a guy who only got 167 carries. I think any objective observer has to be very impressed by what MJD has done in his first two seasons of pro ball.

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Jedimaster21 said:

I had to bump this gem of a thread. Here is some footage of him this past week. God, he is a beast. He has elite speed but seems to break 5 tackles every time he has the ball. When he carries the full load, there is no way he won't be top 5.

http://www.nfl.com/videos?categoryId=teams

For some reason I can't get the link straight to the footage. Just scroll down to Jacksonville, click on Drew, and watch the week 6 highlights.

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"I've always felt like the team was going to take the training wheels off [Drew] eventually," Taylor said. "... I'm going to go out and contribute to try to help this team the best I can, whether it's in a starting role or as a backup."

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switz said:

He's good, but "an elite talent at the highest level of football"?

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switz said:

...MJD - for all those that want to jump on me for being an MJD hater, the kid has mad skills. He merely is short, and scouts don't like short RBs. For that matter, the NFL doesn't like short RBs either. But it doesn't make his talent any less elite...

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Dr. Peter Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.

Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical"?

Dr Ray Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath of God type stuff.

Dr. Peter Venkman: Exactly.

Dr Ray Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!

Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...

Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave!

Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

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Matt Waldman said:

Lott said:

AllVolUT said:

KCC said:

Blackjacks said:

I was surprised to see how much his ypc had dropped in each of his first three years.

I may have to rethink my projections and rankings for him.

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In 2006, his ypc was 5.7. I don't know any RB who can maintain that average from year to year. In 2007, it came down to earth at 4.6, which is still a very respectable ypc average. 2008 saw his average drop to 4.2 ypc, but that was a year in which the Jacksonville offensive line was destroyed by injuries - they lost three starters. Any RBs ypc is going to be hurt by that. According to all accounts, those three are expected to return at full strength and they added Tra Thomas in the offseason. I don't think it's much of a reach to suggest that this will be one of the better offensive lines in the NFL, and I fully expect Mojo's ypc to increase in response to that.

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The Jags line in 2008 was atrocious. It should be noted that Taylor's YPC dropped significantly from his 2007 mark as well. Fred went from a Pro-Bowl RB averaging 5.4 YPC in 2007 to averaging 3.9 YPC in 2008. That goes to show that the drop in MJD's YPC wasn't necessarily a product of his own doing. The Jax OLine is much improved this year.

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Add in the fact that Jax drafted OTs in the 1st and 2nd and we may well see a DRAMATIC turnaround. MJD was my lead RB on one team, so I watched him closely... he was met in the backfield many times and had few lanes to run through.

His ypc did not go down due to increased workload. Frankly, that he got 4.2 behind that line last season is reason for optimism.

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Excellent points about the offensive line. I can understand some of the concern about the workload because people haven't seen him get that number of carries as Del Rio now projects. However, MJDs body type is not much different than Barry Sanders. He's a short runner, but he's by no means a small runner. I also don't think the difference between 15-16 touches and 18-19 touches is nearly enough to worry about MJD breaking down. If you're worried about a 70-100 carry increase, I'd be more understanding, but not 30-40 over the course of 16 games. Plus, I think some of those worried about the number Del Rio mentioned are too focused on that quoted figure and not the overall gist of Del Rio's statement. The number is a goal for carries that may not be attained. What I take from this statement is that the Jaguars are going to give MJD the ball enough without swapping him out as frequently for other backs and that is the important point - MJD will be given an opportunity to get into a rhythm with the flow of the game. RBs complain all the time that frequent alternating of carries in down/distance situations can hamper a player's feel for the game. I think this is a terrific argument and why I'm more inclined to favor RBBC backs where the coaching staff alternates series rather than downs or down and distance situations.

I expect MJD to really thrive as the focal point of the offense and it has to do with the fact he will be counted on to do so. I think he's one of the five most talented backs in this league.

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