Asiata vs. McKinnon (1 Viewer)

[TeeDub]

I think this is going to be a case of "what's good for fantasy is not good for reality." Their only reliable qb is going to get killed if u keep McKinnon in there like that, as we saw sunday

 

[Kendall The Great]

Considering they made the move away from Asista w/o telling anyone, why would I believe them when they say that they are really going to give him more touches now?

Because they cherish Teddy's head more so than McKinnon's running ability.

Then both will be marginal at best, since you won't be able to tell who will get reliable touches.

Asista's in, then the majority of his time may be pass protection, even in scoring situations.

McKinnon's in, then he will be running the ball but it will be obvious unless it's playaction.

Want to see what is said later on in the week.

 

[mnmplayer]

IIRC McKinnon was responsible for one sack, but there were other sacks when Asiata was in too. I wasn't really looking for that so I could be wrong. Would be interesting to know. One thing I do remember was Asiata killed a drive when a Teddy ball hit him in the hands on a dumpoff, doinked off and was intercepted.

 

[oswizzle]

Teddy looks like Garbage with McKinnon in..... He looked like Peyton Manning in his first career start with Asiata in there

Franchise QB is much more important than some potential upside RB who cant block for ish

 

[SameSongNDance]

To be clear, I don't like this because I think it saps both of their value and I own both spread between a couple leagues. Yes, Asiata was also quite horrible when it mattered in that game to. Also, PFF credited McKinnon with 1 sack, and 4 hurries for a -3.3 grade.

 

[matuski]

IIRC McKinnon was responsible for one sack, but there were other sacks when Asiata was in too. I wasn't really looking for that so I could be wrong. Would be interesting to know. One thing I do remember was Asiata killed a drive when a Teddy ball hit him in the hands on a dumpoff, doinked off and was intercepted.

Not absolving Asiata, but that pass was hard and high.. Stafford like touch.

 

[Deaddawg]

Teddy looks like Garbage with McKinnon in..... He looked like Peyton Manning in his first career start with Asiata in there

Franchise QB is much more important than some potential upside RB who cant block for ish

Yeah because ATL and DET defense are exactly the same quality!

 

[Ghost Rider]

Like I said the other day, Minnesota coaches cannot be trusted. I think this will be ever-changing from week to week, and good luck guessing which guy will get the bulk of the touches in any given week.

 

[TheFanatic]

Teddy looks like Garbage with McKinnon in..... He looked like Peyton Manning in his first career start with Asiata in there

Franchise QB is much more important than some potential upside RB who cant block for ish

Yeah because ATL and DET defense are exactly the same quality!

I was going to say the same thing. The D's have nothing to do with the performance. It's all about who's blocking out of the backfield. That is beyond ridiculous.

 

[SameSongNDance]

Teddy looks like Garbage with McKinnon in..... He looked like Peyton Manning in his first career start with Asiata in there

Franchise QB is much more important than some potential upside RB who cant block for ish

Yeah because ATL and DET defense are exactly the same quality!

I was going to say the same thing. The D's have nothing to do with the performance. It's all about who's blocking out of the backfield. That is beyond ridiculous.

DET's defense is worlds better than ATL's this year but they aren't 12 QB hits, 8 sacks, 6 defended passes, 3 INT good. It wouldn't be fair to try and place the blame on any single person, as MIN's entire OL also #### the bed last Sunday but you'd also have to kidding yourself if you think McKinnon doesn't at least deserve some of the blame. It isn't ridiculous in the slightest.

 

[Deaddawg]

Teddy looks like Garbage with McKinnon in..... He looked like Peyton Manning in his first career start with Asiata in there

Franchise QB is much more important than some potential upside RB who cant block for ish

Yeah because ATL and DET defense are exactly the same quality!

I was going to say the same thing. The D's have nothing to do with the performance. It's all about who's blocking out of the backfield. That is beyond ridiculous.

DET's defense is worlds better than ATL's this year but they aren't 12 QB hits, 8 sacks, 6 defended passes, 3 INT good. It wouldn't be fair to try and place the blame on any single person, as MIN's entire OL also #### the bed last Sunday but you'd also have to kidding yourself if you think McKinnon doesn't at least deserve some of the blame. It isn't ridiculous in the slightest.

Slow your roll. I never said he wasn't culpable for some of the disaster last Sunday. It was a shared team experience. Oswizzle was the one suggesting that merely having Asiata in there would have changed Bridgewater to Peyton Manning. I merely pointed out that his statement is just a little beyond the pale. McKinnon has a lot to learn in pass pro. That cannot be denied. He is the future though and needs to be in there in game situations to learn. Against the Lions though is not your optimal choice!

 

[TheFanatic]

Teddy looks like Garbage with McKinnon in..... He looked like Peyton Manning in his first career start with Asiata in there

Franchise QB is much more important than some potential upside RB who cant block for ish

Yeah because ATL and DET defense are exactly the same quality!

I was going to say the same thing. The D's have nothing to do with the performance. It's all about who's blocking out of the backfield. That is beyond ridiculous.

DET's defense is worlds better than ATL's this year but they aren't 12 QB hits, 8 sacks, 6 defended passes, 3 INT good. It wouldn't be fair to try and place the blame on any single person, as MIN's entire OL also #### the bed last Sunday but you'd also have to kidding yourself if you think McKinnon doesn't at least deserve some of the blame. It isn't ridiculous in the slightest.

And how many of those are attributed to McKinnon? What % do you give to McKinnon if the OL looked like crap, the D is so much better, etc?

 

[treat88]

Sure the kid needs to improve his recognition and pass blocking skills.

Just as guys like Bernard, Ellington, and Miller did.

In their cases tho, I heard far more clamor to get them more touches over the obviously less talented back they were each paired with. Seems to flow the opposite direction in McKinnons case.

 

[Dondante]

Sure the kid needs to improve his recognition and pass blocking skills.

Just as guys like Bernard, Ellington, and Miller did.

In their cases tho, I heard far more clamor to get them more touches over the obviously less talented back they were each paired with. Seems to flow the opposite direction in McKinnons case.

A lot of that is from the Asiata contingent.

 

[Vicktimized]

Teddy looks like Garbage with McKinnon in..... He looked like Peyton Manning in his first career start with Asiata in there

Franchise QB is much more important than some potential upside RB who cant block for ish

Teddy was also playing against one of, if not the best defensive teams thus far this season. Bridgewater looked like Aaron Rodgers, 2014 edition ... when Rodgers started against Detroit.

I don't doubt Asiata will play more next week, but he got all of three touches. They may flip-flop the two back again, but I kinda doubt it, much like I doubt the Giants are going to suddenly start Peyton Hillis over Andre Williams for the same reasons. I think you'll see something closer to Ellington/Mendenhall late last season.

 

[Vicktimized]

Sure the kid needs to improve his recognition and pass blocking skills.

Just as guys like Bernard, Ellington, and Miller did.

In their cases tho, I heard far more clamor to get them more touches over the obviously less talented back they were each paired with. Seems to flow the opposite direction in McKinnons case.

A lot of that is from the Asiata contingent.

Yeah. Mendenhall/BJGE/Thomas weren't helping anyone's fantasy teams. Asiata racked up a few TDs for people and they don't want their dude on the pine.

Asiata owners: Pass protection is the only important thing. Play Asiata!

McKinnon owners: If Teddy dies, he dies. Free McKinnon!

 

[SameSongNDance]

Teddy looks like Garbage with McKinnon in..... He looked like Peyton Manning in his first career start with Asiata in there

Franchise QB is much more important than some potential upside RB who cant block for ish

Yeah because ATL and DET defense are exactly the same quality!

I was going to say the same thing. The D's have nothing to do with the performance. It's all about who's blocking out of the backfield. That is beyond ridiculous.

DET's defense is worlds better than ATL's this year but they aren't 12 QB hits, 8 sacks, 6 defended passes, 3 INT good. It wouldn't be fair to try and place the blame on any single person, as MIN's entire OL also #### the bed last Sunday but you'd also have to kidding yourself if you think McKinnon doesn't at least deserve some of the blame. It isn't ridiculous in the slightest.

And how many of those are attributed to McKinnon? What % do you give to McKinnon if the OL looked like crap, the D is so much better, etc?

I mentioned the exact stats up a couple of posts. I guess it doesn't matter what I think though. If Zimmer wants to get Asiata more snaps to protect Teddy, he will. BUF is also a pretty ####ty match-up for this week so both are likely unstartable until we see how this shakes out.

 

[mnmplayer]

Aaron Rogers looked ling dung vs DET D. Just saying. McKinnon was far more productive vs DET D than Lacy was too. Just a barometer.

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

Another disastrous Pro Football Focus grade for Mat Kalil at -4.9. 2nd worse on offense Teddy -4.6.

It's also been reported that TB is holding the ball way too long and what the heck it was plain to see.

TB has been sacked 22 times, all since AP departed. That was largely with Asiata in there. That is not because Asiata is a worse blocker, it's because defenses have zero respect for the run. The only way to get that back is get a playmaker in at RB who will cause pain if they leave him unaccounted for.

McKinnon is not the one getting TB killed here.

 

[brnichols87]

Teddy looks like Garbage with McKinnon in..... He looked like Peyton Manning in his first career start with Asiata in there

Franchise QB is much more important than some potential upside RB who cant block for ish

Yeah because ATL and DET defense are exactly the same quality!

I was going to say the same thing. The D's have nothing to do with the performance. It's all about who's blocking out of the backfield. That is beyond ridiculous.

DET's defense is worlds better than ATL's this year but they aren't 12 QB hits, 8 sacks, 6 defended passes, 3 INT good. It wouldn't be fair to try and place the blame on any single person, as MIN's entire OL also #### the bed last Sunday but you'd also have to kidding yourself if you think McKinnon doesn't at least deserve some of the blame. It isn't ridiculous in the slightest.

And how many of those are attributed to McKinnon? What % do you give to McKinnon if the OL looked like crap, the D is so much better, etc?

[SIZE=10pt]If you actually go back and review the film, it’s pretty apparent that McKinnon’s pass protection struggles are egregiously overstated. In order to truly highlight how little Mckinnon’s “struggles” in protection contributed to the offense’s dismal showing, I took the liberty of creating a google doc [/SIZE]https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pWImfRlEgnli14qUPI1DW9_rK-WJyMkkZ1a8ZVefCvU/edit[SIZE=10pt] with screenshots of each sack and int during the Detriot game (11 in all). To review; Mckinnon was in pass protection for just two of these game-changing plays; one int and one sack. Neither of which were even partially his fault, in fact in both instances he performed very very well stonewalling both defensive lineman despite a 100+ weight disparity and his obvious lack of pass pro experience. He was aggressive, decisive and fundamentally sound in each instance in which he was asked to pass protect.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/10/13/refo-lions-vikings-week-6/ These observations make the following claims by PFF regarding Mckinnon’s pass protection (claims that were supported by many within the scouting and fantasy community) truly baffling. “His pass protection clearly needs shoring up though after allowing five pressures (-3.3). (PFF assigned McKinnon, One sack and four hurries).” Attributing five “pressures” to Mckinnon is beyond absurd considering my own analysis which is supported by “Film Review” articles posted on several major sites. All conclude that at worst he should be assessed 2 pressures but one seems appropriate and no assessment that I have read outside of the PFF one even mentions an apparent sack allowed.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]from espn1500.com weekly “Film observations of Vikings Offense” article: “ In his first NFL start, Jerick McKinnon was one of the only assets: McKinnon likely secured his spot as the starter with ball security after Asiata fumbled in the GB loss and bobbled a pass into an interception on Sunday. Game ball: McKinnon -- 82 combined yards on 17 touches against the Lions' stingy defense is something to be proud of for the rookie in his first NFL start. McKinnon even stayed in to pass protect on five plays, allowing just one pressure. It'd be surprising to see the Vikings go back to Asiata after McKinnon has totaled 284 yards from scrimmage in the past three games."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]This positive assessment of his pass protection was reiterated by the writers at Vikingsjournal in a post after the game, “His protection was good, though not ideal, when lined up one-on-one against blitzers. His identification was ideal, but he got blown back at least once, if not twice in keeping the pocket clean. That isn’t to say he let players get to Teddy Bridgewater, but he did allow pressures, even if he redirected the rusher out of the pocket after some time. It’s a work in progress, but he did a very good job with how far along he is expected to be.” And in another VJ post regarding the game: “He played relatively well in pass protection by showing a willingness to stick his nose into the oncoming rush of the Detroit front seven.” In comparison, the VJ writers added that Asiata was simply "OK," in pass protection, to go along with a dismal game in virtually all other categories: “Matt Asiata, on the other hand, wasn’t particularly spectacular, if only because of opportunity. He ran poorly and couldn’t create new yards—poorly equipped against the Detroit interior—but was OK in his very limited pass protection and was even better as a blocking fullback for Patterson. His receiving was the biggest problem—he caused an interception and arguably ended the Vikings’ best chance at a comeback.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Unfortunately the “data driven” approach applied by Pro Football Focus in order to create a “grade,” for each player on each play is wrought with issues particularly when it comes to abstract details of the game such as individual pass protection. There are so many ambiguous issues involved with pass protection breakdowns that trying to evaluate such events and place blame is nearly impossible for anyone to do outside of the players involved and those within the coaching staff that are informed about scheme, play call and responsibility. To this end, it would be difficult for even opposing scouts to evaluate without inside knowledge and thus a fools errand for a “PFF analyst,” with zero experience, training and little if any qualifications; this is a little known or discussed problem inherent to PFF, the one’s that actually collect the data are almost exclusively “rookie” interns at the website with virtually no experience if any at all. I know this because I was pretty close to accepting a position as one of the “interns” two years back. However, after researching the job and the duties involved my opinion of the site as a whole changed dramatically as it became readily apparent that the “backbone” ie the copious amounts of individual player data that the site champions as its differentiating asset is almost exclusively made up of assessments levied by “analysts,“ with no real experience or talent. [/SIZE]https://www.profootballfocus.com/about/get-involved/[SIZE=10pt] A posting on the site regarding “analyst” job openings shows the alarming lack of any real qualifications or experience needed to perform film-driven player analysis, “ProFootballFocus.com is seeking a number of highly enthusiastic and dedicated NFL fans to join their analysis team. If you’re a passionate follower of football, looking to expand your knowledge of the game and get a foot in the door of the NFL industry, then you could have what it takes to become a part of PFF. In working for PFF you will contribute to the analysis and statistics that make PFF so unique. Every person from CEO to newest member of the team has started off working on the collation of player participation data that can take upwards of 20 hours per game to collect initially and, although this does reduce considerably with experience, it is not for the faint of heart. Producing this data improves your knowledge of the game and put you in a position to represent the PFF brand through articles, etc. The successful candidate must have: Demonstrable knowledge of the NFL product and what PFF does, A very high level of enthusiasm and passion for the NFL and Pro Football Focus, Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (both written and verbal) Ability to meet deadlines, Positive attitude, strong work ethic, and excellent attention to detail, At least 20 hours of free time per week.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/08/25/mike-zimmer-minnesota-vikings-pro-football-focus Ironically, Viking’s head coach Mike Zimmer made some waves this Huly as he opened a press conference with the following critique of PFF and their approach to player performance grades, [/SIZE][SIZE=10pt]"The last thing that I want to talk about before I let you guys go is this Pro Football Focus thing," Zimmer said. "I know everybody wants to get the scoop on this, but quite honestly there’s not really anybody... I look at the grades and I can’t tell you what a 0.7 is or anything like that, but I know that the people that are grading our games and our defenses and our offenses, they don’t know if the tackle gets beat inside, if we weren’t sliding out to the nickel or who our guys are supposed to cover. I guarantee they don’t know who is in our blitz package and what they are supposed to do. I would just ask everybody to take that with a grain of salt, including our fans. We as coaches get paid a whole bunch of money to do the jobs that we do, evaluate the players that we evaluate and grade them how we grade them and not based on someone else.”[/SIZE]

 

[mnmplayer]

Not bad for a 1st post rookie . But seriously welcome to the forums and nice post. Glad you felt the need to shed some truth on the subject as my cursory watch of the condensed game footage gave me the same impression. Asiata made more errors than McKinnon especially with that INT bouncing off his hands.

 

[BigJim®]

TB has been sacked 22 times, all since AP departed.

Where does this number come from? Wasn't he sacked 0 times vs. Atlanta, and 8 times vs. Lions... where do the other 14 come from? Looks like Saints got 2 sacks in that partial game he played.

 

[brnichols87]

google doc published-vikings pass protection breakdown https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pWImfRlEgnli14qUPI1DW9_rK-WJyMkkZ1a8ZVefCvU/pub

 

[T with T]

Yeah, MIN definitely should have taken my advice for the DET game.

Coach Mike Zimmer said he wants to get Matt Asiata more touches this week against the Bills.
Zimmer expanded and added that he wants Jerick McKinnon's touches to come down from Week 6. Against the Lions last Sunday, McKinnon out-touched Asiata 17-3 and out-snapped Asiata 48-15. Zimmer wants that to change because Asiata is "dependable," and added that running backs who can't pass-protect can "get the quarterback killed." We take that as a direct reference to the raw McKinnon. McKinnon is a high-upside stach, while Asiata is a low-upside RB3.

see somthing seems fishy to me, he wants to get asiata more touches who is a plodder and just another guy, and take away Mckinnon's touches when he is clearly faster and more explosive and a better pure runner. Do you think this is coachspeak and Mckinnon still sees 16-18 touches this week sharks? just doesn't make sense.

 

[SameSongNDance]

docs.google.com/document/
d/1pWImfRlEgnli14qUPI1DW9_rK-
WJyMkkZ1a8ZVefCvU/pub

I still can't access it.

Yeah, MIN definitely should have taken my advice for the DET game.

Coach Mike Zimmer said he wants to get Matt Asiata more touches this week against the Bills.
Zimmer expanded and added that he wants Jerick McKinnon's touches to come down from Week 6. Against the Lions last Sunday, McKinnon out-touched Asiata 17-3 and out-snapped Asiata 48-15. Zimmer wants that to change because Asiata is "dependable," and added that running backs who can't pass-protect can "get the quarterback killed." We take that as a direct reference to the raw McKinnon. McKinnon is a high-upside stach, while Asiata is a low-upside RB3.

see somthing seems fishy to me, he wants to get asiata more touches who is a plodder and just another guy, and take away Mckinnon's touches when he is clearly faster and more explosive and a better pure runner. Do you think this is coachspeak and Mckinnon still sees 16-18 touches this week sharks? just doesn't make sense.

I honestly thinks he means more snaps since he specifically referred to pass pro.

 

[brnichols87]

sorry for the access issue just attempted to fix. Please let me know if you guys now have access so i can confirm its working https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pWImfRlEgnli14qUPI1DW9_rK-WJyMkkZ1a8ZVefCvU/pub

 

[georg013]

McKinnon is a change of pace back and should not be carrying the load. (Sorry McKinnon owners). It's funny to me hearing people try to rationalize starting project players. Expect Minnesota to draft a quality back in 2015's deep class to replace Adrian Peterson. These guys are simply bandaids. #realitysux The only reason the ex-quarterback is getting so much play is because there is no one else.

 

[T with T]

I don't know if Mckinnon is not a quality start Georg it's to early to say. LOL the guy is a rookie and looks pretty good. Hard to say a rook with barely any touches is not a starter and he looks good when given carries... He seems like a dual threat guy Why can't he be a starter?

 

[mrbigg]

He can't start because the team value the franchise quarterback more then a project running back. Period. Stop asking why.

 

[mnmplayer]

Well technically he can start, did start and is projected to start again.

 

[Biabreakable]

2014 MINNESOTA VIKINGS: MCKINNON A MUST FOR FANTASY EXPERTS

 

[Omniscient Deity]

McKinnon is an explosive talent, the guy can fly in the open field. If he gets 15 touches per game I'm pretty excited to see what he can do. Could be similar to Anrde Ellington last year when he started getting touches

 

[Ladsud]

Nice thread, an argument for a terrible running back with a 5.4 40 time and a rook that cant block for ####. Have fun chasing those 3 tds with his 3.0 ypc average that can get yanked any time or a greenhorn that can get yanked anytime.

 

[schurov]

What's McKinnon's BMI?

 

[mnmplayer]

J. McKinnon weighs 209, with a 31.0 BMI.

B. Sankey (209, 30.4)

Tre Mason (207, 31.0).

 

[SameSongNDance]

Nice thread, an argument for a terrible running back with a 5.4 40 time and a rook that cant block for ####. Have fun chasing those 3 tds with his 3.0 ypc average that can get yanked any time or a greenhorn that can get yanked anytime.

Welcome to the thread! You'll fit right in.

 

[Air Stich]

changing of the guard Deeeez NutZZZZZZ

Asiago Bagel is still the man...Bridgewater looks like Cinderella once the clock strikes 12 with McKinnon in there

What I don't understand is how they could have reviewed tape and decided it was a good idea to trot McKinnon out there for essentially the entire game. Like, if a laymen like me realized that you were going to need to keep Asiata in to protect Teddy how could they not have seen it?

Maybe you don't know as much as you think you do. The o-line was the problem in the the Detroit game, not Mckinnon.

 

[SameSongNDance]

changing of the guard Deeeez NutZZZZZZ

Asiago Bagel is still the man...Bridgewater looks like Cinderella once the clock strikes 12 with McKinnon in there

What I don't understand is how they could have reviewed tape and decided it was a good idea to trot McKinnon out there for essentially the entire game. Like, if a laymen like me realized that you were going to need to keep Asiata in to protect Teddy how could they not have seen it?

Maybe you don't know as much as you think you do. The o-line was the problem in the the Detroit game, not Mckinnon.

They both clearly contributed. DET had 12 sacks and MIN had allowed 14 sacks on the year entering that game. Maybe the coaching staff is just inept.

I've said all along, if McKinnon can actually find his man he's proven to be capable but he's also shown that he's capable of missing assignments as well. Let's say you're correct though and all of the blame should be placed squarely on the OL, why wouldn't you then want your best pass protector in to mask deficiencies and help protect your franchise QB?

This is all kind of moot at this point though, as now we're all essentially debating the rushing attack of a bottom 5 scoring offense keeping company with the likes of NYJ, OAK and JAC. You know you're in trouble when your top scorer not named Blair Walsh is Matt Asiata with no one else being particularly close (Asiata has scored 4 TDs, no one else has more than 1). MIN is a total #### show.

 

[Maelstrom]

We'll find out in about an hour, but I think it was mostly coach-speak to motivate McKinnon, and that we'll continue to see a similar breakdown of plays going to McKinnon compared to Asiata. Asiata is a back, he's a plodder who can get you 1-3 yards, but isn't going to make people miss. He also seems to seek out contact, which is fine in some situations but there are times where he follows the play to a fault. McKinnon is pretty clearly the more talented of the two, and as demonstrated by some pretty excellent posts earlier, most of the pass protection issues have not been on him. So I think he stays in way more than people are thinking today. Not that he is a great start against the Bills, but neither is Asiata.

 

[flapgreen]

asiata hasnt been in since his bad holding penalty. guessing hes done for the night. brutal game for him with the fumble and hold. wonder if he loses even more time to mckinnon. rough backfield to own right now.

Asiata is the starter. That is why he is sitting in a 30+ game.

asiata hasnt been in since his bad holding penalty. guessing hes done for the night. brutal game for him with the fumble and hold. wonder if he loses even more time to mckinnon. rough backfield to own right now.

Nah, right now looks like what someone else said, that the Vikes are just saving him. They are prob trying to get McKinnon some heavy play time tonight.

ExactlySame reason he sat the last series vs Falcons and people here took is as an omen that McKinnon was surpassing him

Gotta love the shark pool

Thanks for setting us straight. Lol

 

[Maelstrom]

We'll find out in about an hour, but I think it was mostly coach-speak to motivate McKinnon, and that we'll continue to see a similar breakdown of plays going to McKinnon compared to Asiata. Asiata is a back, he's a plodder who can get you 1-3 yards, but isn't going to make people miss. He also seems to seek out contact, which is fine in some situations but there are times where he follows the play to a fault. McKinnon is pretty clearly the more talented of the two, and as demonstrated by some pretty excellent posts earlier, most of the pass protection issues have not been on him. So I think he stays in way more than people are thinking today. Not that he is a great start against the Bills, but neither is Asiata.

McKinnon: Rush: 19-103 Pass: 1-(-2)Asiata: Rush: 6- 24 Pass: 1-13I think it's pretty clear who the starter is. Asiata is the "change of pace" or "passing situation" guy. Asiata will often also be the Goal Line guy (he was in on first down when the Vikes were down near the 5 yard line toward the end of the game), but I wouldn't bank on it.

 

[mnmplayer]

McKinnon is the only running back to rush for over 100 yards on the Bills this year.

 

[Football Jones]

I expected McKinnon to be their feature back sooner or later & it looks like they've handed him the keys. He's progressing pretty fast, as well. McKinnon is a legit beast with his physical traits & looks like a natural runner. Great open field ability & very strong. Good receiver.

McKinnon reminds me a lot of Brian Westbrook, but he's a stronger runner. This kid has a big-time future, IMO. Their offense has a ways to go & he might be a little inconsistent, but I expect him to be a stud possibly as soon as next season.

 

[TheFanatic]

McKinnon is a change of pace back and should not be carrying the load. (Sorry McKinnon owners). It's funny to me hearing people try to rationalize starting project players. Expect Minnesota to draft a quality back in 2015's deep class to replace Adrian Peterson. These guys are simply bandaids. #realitysux The only reason the ex-quarterback is getting so much play is because there is no one else.

If a COP back can put up a c note on the Bills, imagine what he can do against a bad run D.

 

[TheFanatic]

More importantly for FF is that it's 9-0 in terms of points for Asiata to Mckinnon.

That's a myopic view of it. If Asiata can't run he's not going to stay on the field in the NFL. If he's not on the field in the NFL, he's not going to score any of those FF points.

This is an example of a fantasy football logical fallacy.

You think that because Asiata is mediocre, it will lead to Asiata being benched, which will lead to McKinnon taking his place, which will lead to McKinnon scoring points.

Yeah, it totally ignores the fact that Asiata being the superior pass protector will likely keep him on the field regardless.

i'm guessing theFanatic lost out on Asiata and had to settle for McKinnon on the waiver wire.

Or worse, thought he was smarter than NFL coaches and picked up McKinnon over Asiata.

I wasn't smarter than the NFL coaches. They put Asiata higher on the depth chart because he's a veteran and has played in the league. McKinnon had to earn his spot above Asiata.

That's how the NFL works.

 

[GoodLloydHaveMercy]

I'm guessing fanatic hit the wire before anybody else and chose McKinnon over Asiata because he was counting on McKinnon overtaking Asiata eventually this season... I had the same choice and made the same decision in 2 leagues... In one league it looks like it will work out great but in the other league I really could have used those 2 or 3 decent Asiata wks as I'm decimated at RB with Montee "might as well be Lance" Ball and CJ "Oh SNAP!!" Spiller as my top 2 RBs...

For people in similar desperate positions like I found myself in I'm betting they'd rather have had Asiata early and McKinnon right now but not many I assume could have afforded to keep both for this long

Especially if they are also holding Josh Gordon

 

[mnmplayer]

Rostering gordon. Picked up both on ap news played Asiata for gio bye wk4 for his "other" 3 td game. Dropped Asiata last week. Kept McKinnon. Was it really that hard? I did have to make room for two spots week 2 ... Justin hunter and Andy dalton WR AND QB... two easiest positions to fill. I'm sure the top 200 had both of those guys ranked higher than mckinnon at the time. Not now tho.

 

[GoodLloydHaveMercy]

In my league it was hard... 16 tm half pt ppr and shallow benches... Also because of cam newton injury had to roster a backup qb early in season

 

[TheFanatic]

I'm guessing fanatic hit the wire before anybody else and chose McKinnon over Asiata because he was counting on McKinnon overtaking Asiata eventually this season... I had the same choice and made the same decision in 2 leagues... In one league it looks like it will work out great but in the other league I really could have used those 2 or 3 decent Asiata wks as I'm decimated at RB with Montee "might as well be Lance" Ball and CJ "Oh SNAP!!" Spiller as my top 2 RBs...

For people in similar desperate positions like I found myself in I'm betting they'd rather have had Asiata early and McKinnon right now but not many I assume could have afforded to keep both for this long

Especially if they are also holding Josh Gordon

I drafted both as an ADP owner in a salary cap league. I only had room for one of them as I'm up against the cap. If we cut a guy, we have to eat his salary. I chose McKinnon as I figured ADP was going to have a strong season and would not need McKinnon until at least next year, if not beyond. I saw Asiata as what he was, a fill in for his betters. He did fine in that role, but he also cemented himself as not one of the betters.

 

[BigJim®]

For anyone who hadn't seen this nice McKinnon run vs. Buffalo:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/top-5-runs/0ap3000000414172/Week-7-Top-5-runs