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RB Melvin Gordon, BAL (9 Viewers)
- Thread starter gianmarco
- Start date
cdwood
Footballguy
This is the first year I'm feeling good about Gordon going into the regular season. He doesn't have to worry about Danny Woodhead stealing touches, it doesn't look like his backups are going to steal many touches other than when he needs a breather. I think as long was the Chargers are still in the game, Gordon should get his touches.
Tanner9919
Footballguy
not buying him as a consensus top 5 RB in most mags and on most FF websites..call me cray-cray or whatever, but Gordon's 3.9 ypc avg last season,coupled with the less than 1000 yards rushing , and an unsustainable TD number, significant loss on the o-line with Lamp done for the season before it even got started, there's almost nowhere to go but down for Gordon..last year seems like an outlier than the norm..slight regression is in order here..Chargers' achillies' heel has been their o-line and it's significantly worse than last season, a lesser o-line..
and I never trust Ken Whisenhunt for anything.I know he was there last season,but he's a lousy OC, on a team with a bunch of new coaches and cast-offs from elsewhere...Gus Bradley as DC? seriously? eesh..
I dunno, Gordon did all he could last year on 250+ carries and could only muster 3.9 per carry, which is right on with his career avg..
I view him as more of an I. Crowell, or lesser-type RB, only thing is, Gordon is going 2-3 rounds before Crowell and the others..what I would do is wait on Doug Martin, you'll reap the rewards..but to take Gordon at the tail end of the first round is just a reach.grab a quality RB at that point, or take Aaron Rodgers..but get significant value with the pick.but Gordon is a 3rd round player not a top 8-9 player..not even close..he overachieved last season and I would not expect him to do better..not with Hunter, Williams, Allen ( if he can stay healthy),etc..
and I never trust Ken Whisenhunt for anything.I know he was there last season,but he's a lousy OC, on a team with a bunch of new coaches and cast-offs from elsewhere...Gus Bradley as DC? seriously? eesh..
I dunno, Gordon did all he could last year on 250+ carries and could only muster 3.9 per carry, which is right on with his career avg..
I view him as more of an I. Crowell, or lesser-type RB, only thing is, Gordon is going 2-3 rounds before Crowell and the others..what I would do is wait on Doug Martin, you'll reap the rewards..but to take Gordon at the tail end of the first round is just a reach.grab a quality RB at that point, or take Aaron Rodgers..but get significant value with the pick.but Gordon is a 3rd round player not a top 8-9 player..not even close..he overachieved last season and I would not expect him to do better..not with Hunter, Williams, Allen ( if he can stay healthy),etc..
ShamrockPride
Footballguy
I've been saying this for a year now, but people don't care because the injury supports the "injury prone" narrative they've already painted onto him.
simey
Footballguy
I think Gordon is more valuable than Crowell. Not only is Gordon on a good offense, he also catches passes and he isn't in a RBBC. IMO that makes him a very valuable RB regardless of his points per carry, which he could improve on this year. I wouldn't let the loss of Lamp scare me off either. Every player has some risk.
Tau837
Footballguy
Yeah, his 997 yards rushing was a world away from 1000 yards.
And he did it in essentially 12 games (he played 5 snaps in game 13).There is no reason to believe the Chargers OL will be worse, despite Lamp's injury. They moved from LT Dunlap to LT Okung, which should be an improvement. They moved from LG Franklin + C Slauson to LG Slauson + C Pulley/Feeney/Tuerk, which should be a wash or an improvement, since Franklin was one of the worst OGs in the NFL. They moved from RG Fluker to RG Feeney/Clark/Wiggins, which should be a wash, since Fluker was terrible; Lamp would have definitely upgraded this spot. Overall, this looks like a slightly improved OL.
You also can't ignore the change in the coaching staff, which could help the OL as a whole.
Gordon is likely to have more touches, carries, and targets, and he is likely to have more red zone/goal line opportunities, since he plays in a better offense.
Chaka
Footballguy
The loss of Lamp is a big blow for the Chargers but the line is still better than it was last season.
Chaka
Footballguy
Crowell is not in a RBBC. Since the beginning of the off-season everything coming out of Cleveland points towards Crowell being the feature back with Duke getting obvious passing down work and maybe give some breathers.
I still like Gordon over Crowell for end of season totals but I would gladly pass on Gordon at his ADP in favor or a high end WR or QB (super-flex league) if I knew I could get Crowell later.
Weebs210
Footballguy
Chaka
Footballguy
You never know how any draft will fall but Gordon is typically coming off the board as RB 4-6 in a PPR and Crowell around RB 12-14. So the opportunity should realistically be there.
Captain Quinoa
Footballguy
Crowell catches passes, and nobody is in less of a RBBC than he is. He will get about 250 carries this year.
Gordon is better. But is he 2 rounds better? Ehhh....
simey
Footballguy
need2know
Footballguy
shadyridr
Footballguy
Captain Quinoa
Footballguy
Absolutely. Duke will get very few carries. He's mostly been lining up as a slot WR in camp. Dayes will probably get more carries than Duke. Hue Jackson has said he regrets abandoning the run too soon in games last year. Crow will get his.
Captain Quinoa
Footballguy
need2know
Footballguy
Lots more scoring opps too. Give me that all day. I stumbled into Gordon last year and was impressed with what he did.
Chaka
Footballguy
I kind of disagree that Gordon is better. He has a better offense around him but I think Crowell is a better football player.
It's hard to tell with Gordon and his injuries but last seasons Crowell made some damn fine lemonade, like artisinal quality $8/bottle stuff, from Otis's empty tuna cans and apple cores...or his potato skins...or maybe it's his unwatched P90X DVD collection but the bottom line is Crowell did an awful lot last year with so very little help.
Yeah, after the top 3-4 RBs come off the board I'm moving on to other positions and targeting Crowell a round or two, hopefully, later.
ETA: I play in a ppr super-flex league so there are more first and second options then standard or typical ppr leagues.
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ShamrockPride
Footballguy
Guy is significantly more valuable in PPR.
Tau837
Footballguy
He was questionable with a knee issue, announcers said that is what took him out of the game.
ShamrockPride
Footballguy
Sounds like he'll be a "start with confidence" guy next week. See how the week goes though.
Tanner9919
Footballguy
guy's made of glass..if he doesn't score these cheesy TDs, he's just a useless RB..for his career he's averaging 3.7 yards per carry, in 2017, that number is now down to 3.3 yards..he's essentially Ameer Abdullah .yawn. you can never consider Melvin Gordon a start with confidence guy.
cringe-worthy starts, ala Jay Cutler..I'd be looking to trade to a desperate owner as soon as the bye weeks come rolling along
cringe-worthy starts, ala Jay Cutler..I'd be looking to trade to a desperate owner as soon as the bye weeks come rolling along
need2know
Footballguy
I don't agree
Guy was a monster last year and has been good so far this year. Their oline blows and hes playing with pass happy rivers who never stays with the run.
ConnSKINS26
Footballguy
need2know said:
You can really tell who is watching the games and who isn't in these threads. Gordon has not only produced the part (fantasy wise) but also looked the part since last year. Right up to this week. He just passes the eye test despite the bad OL. He's a very good RB, and what he does after the snap but before crossing the LOS is what makes him so good, and able to produce what he does despite the OL.
ShamrockPride
Footballguy
I agree despite numbers he still just LOOKS good. Defintely a high value RB, even more so in dyno and PPR. He's become one of Rivers favorite targets.
need2know
Footballguy
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Tau837
Footballguy
Posted this a few minutes ago in yesterday's game thread:
On Chargers radio this morning, Hardwick said Gordon was pulled because he was ineffective. They went on to play a clip from Anthony Lynn's postgame, within which he said something non-specific about making changes. Hardwick then said one of the changes he would make is to reduce Gordon's playing time in favor of Ekeler. Who knows if Lynn would actually consider that, but I thought it was interesting.
On Chargers radio this morning, Hardwick said Gordon was pulled because he was ineffective. They went on to play a clip from Anthony Lynn's postgame, within which he said something non-specific about making changes. Hardwick then said one of the changes he would make is to reduce Gordon's playing time in favor of Ekeler. Who knows if Lynn would actually consider that, but I thought it was interesting.
Crystalsteam99
Footballguy
It's deff his knee. He didn't look right at the end of the game last week either. They should let Gordan rest his knee for a week or 2,T!he Chargers are going nowhere fast. Why risk further injury. A player with an injury will change the way he runs,and can end up hurting something other than his original injury...I'm picking up Ekeler(He's looked pretty good) in a couple leagues.B Oliver is not the same rb he was before his injury either(and he wasn't that good to begin with),So I don't believe he's the backup for Gordan if he went down.If Gordan keeps running with his knee issue,changing his running style compensating for his hurting knee,he will be the next IR casualty before you know it. We have deep benches,21 man rosters,with 1 IR spot,so their isn't much out there.I think Ekeler is a good bench stash and you can probably get him for free this week.
JFS171
Footballguy
Anyone wading in here and buying low, either redraft or dynasty? The inefficiencies concern me. The microfracture concerns me. The bone bruise ... eh, if they'd let him rest, he'd be fine.
Are the inefficiencies a result of the OL being so bad, or a result of Gordon being meh?
When there's blood in the streets, buy. But ... who's the sap? The seller or the buyer?
Are the inefficiencies a result of the OL being so bad, or a result of Gordon being meh?
When there's blood in the streets, buy. But ... who's the sap? The seller or the buyer?
SaintsInDome2006
Footballguy
3.1 ypc is a really bad harbinger. That's not just a slump.
BoltBacker
Footballguy
Interesting.
It's pretty easy for Hardwick to say that after Ekeler breaks off one long run, though. The bigger problem is NOBODY is going to be successful behind that line... going on YEARS now. It's a miracle Rivers has been successful passing behind it as he has up until now. If the spanos family refused to hire someone to fix it over the vast majority of River's career I don't see it getting fixed over Gordon's career(which may be cut short due to annual knee injuries since he's been in the league).
But hey, the spanos family is just catering to the demands of his "home" crowd at this point. The people that pay for the tickets want to see the chargers OL struggle, right?
VikingFrog
Footballguy
I'm sure they paid a fortune for market analyses and feasibility studies etc, but this move to L.A. sure seems like an epic disaster when they can't even come close to selling out a small soccer venue this early in year 1.
Tau837
Footballguy
When Woodhead was healthy, he played more snaps than Matthews and later Gordon, even though Mathews and Gordon were viewed as the primary running backs. Current OC Whisenhunt was the OC for that split with Mathews in 2013. People have been saying the Chargers need to get back to that short passing game Whisenhunt installed in 2013, which was a good year for Rivers and the entire offense, but Woodhead was a huge part of that, and they are missing that element right now.
Back in 2013, Mathews and Woodhead combined for 102/794/7 receiving, with most of that being Woodhead. Gordon and Oliver currently have 18/117/1 in 4 games, which projects to 72/468/4 for the season. Huge difference.
Not saying Ekeler is as good as Woodhead, as there very few RBs as talented in the short passing game as Woodhead. But Ekeler does have 5 catches for 47 yards on 5 targets, showing that he has some potential in the passing game to go along with the talent shown on his TD run. It certainly seems that his potential could make him more useful than Oliver as a complementary back to Gordon.
Football Outsiders' DVOA is certainly not a perfect metric, but it attempts to measure value per play. Gordon as a receiver is at -6.2%; Oliver is at -63.2% ( :X ); Ekeler is at 88.7%, which is 3rd highest among 64 rated RBs, albeit on a very small sample size.
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bicycle_seat_sniffer
Smells like chicken
BoltBacker
Footballguy
No, the genius spanos family spent all their money on stadiumbicycle_seat_sniffer said:
Now they will get to rent out the Rams stadium when they aren't using it. I can't wait to see the giant swaths of empty seats in that thing..... there are only so many Eagles fans to hide your complete incompetence. Just imagine what the PHI game would have looked like in the stands if the Eagles fans wouldn't have showed up for the game in the small soccer stadium.
Judge Smails
Footballguy
When built the Rams stadium will be packed and sold out every week. Think Dodgers and Lakers. The temp venues are terrible. Parking is $100. People are avoiding for different reasons.
BoltBacker
Footballguy
Were the Chris Everett Rams really selling out every week?
What do you think the parking will cost at the shiny new stadium in Los Angeles? I expect ticket prices to be much, much higher.
ShamrockPride
Footballguy
313 total yards and 4 TD's the last 2 weeks. This guys a fantasy monster. Dude is putting up since demanding more plays for himself.
Bojang0301
Omar4Heisman
He’s not a good RB but 
