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CJ Anderson (3 Viewers)

Go Bears!

I've thought from the outset that CJ Anderson had an NFL future. I never understood why we didn't use him more at Cal; that screen pass is typical of what we'd see from him when he got the ball, some good vision, decent moves, good hands and strength. I'd hope today's effort shakes up the pecking order in Denver.

 
I've been one of the bigger CJ Anderson guys on this board, and yesterday is about what I expected if he was ever given a legit shot. I backed CJ when Ball went down... then CJ somehow ended up third in the pecking order and was there for weeks. I finally dropped and moved on... only to see him on waivers as his breakout happens yesterday. I doubt I get him back, though I'll try.

While frustrated (and while I believe he's got a future in the league), I'm not sure this isn't Ball's backfield all over again. Ball was selected by the coaches over the past 18 months of evaluations. He said himself that he got a little heavy, wasn't as quick to he hole, didn't have the same burst this year. He's shed 12 lbs since the groin injury. If he's fully healthy, I wouldn't be surprised to see him thrust right back into the lead back role with Anderson the COP and Hillman mixing in occassionally (much like the first 3 weeks of the season).

Ball haters point to his ineffectiveness early in the year, though he had two solid games and one clunker at Seattle. And he recognized his issue, got lighter and leaner, and should now be much more like what we saw as a rookie.

Anyone claiming they know how this all plays out is lying, but gun to my head I'd say Ball gets a shot to take back his starting job. He was the best pass protector on the team in preseason and in the early going... and that goes a very long ways in Peyton's scheme.

 
I think I'd guess on Ball. But I wouldn't be shocked to see something like Ball 60%, Anderson 40%. Hillman looks to be the odd man out right now. Too bad because he's the one I threw my chips in with. At least he was free when I got him.

 
Niles Standish said:
I think I'd guess on Ball. But I wouldn't be shocked to see something like Ball 60%, Anderson 40%. Hillman looks to be the odd man out right now. Too bad because he's the one I threw my chips in with. At least he was free when I got him.
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Lucky you. I used my #1 waiver on him. At least that was in week 5 so I got 4 good weeks out of him when I needed the points *shrug*

Anderson looked very good yesterday. Of course the Raiders defense ain't much of a gage. That said, he should be added in all WW, especially if you own Ball or Hillman. He seems to be the most complete out of the 3 Denver RBs.

 
If they trust Anderson to block I think he'll take over for Ball by the end of the year. If they don't I think Ball takes over again. With [SIZE=14.2857141494751px]Hillman keeping a good chunk of passing down role either way.[/SIZE]

 
I think Anderson has the most talent.

Hillman has earned the starter role.

Ball is the vet with the most standing to return as No. 2. Hillman may be hurt so regardless of Anderson he may step in.

Or Hillman may not be hurt and it's all things normal.

Or maybe they've just been waiting to use Anderson.

Oh sure that's all clear.

Somewhere Shanahan laughs maniacally, twisting his hands. :devil: {"Bwahahhahhaaa"}

 
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That would explain the limp and the inactivity yesterday.

So the question is... would CJ have been this involved without the Hillman injury? Where does Ball slot in the mix?

Hillman out of the picture, so IMO we're looking at CJ vs. Ball. If, and perhaps a big IF, Ball is really healthy and ready to go, I'd think he slots back in like the guy he was weeks 1-3 with CJ getting 30% of the carries and Ball taking 70%. Remember, Hillman was nowhere to be seen back then.

At least we know one guy is out of the picture for a few weeks... perhaps helps with clarity of the situation.

 
Lot of times in FF, the eye test wins out... Anderson passes the eye test with flying colors to me. Ball hasn't. Ill try and get Anderson & see what happens

 
wdcrob said:
oddsbodkins said:
need2know said:
I think ball gets his job back
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I think so too. His slimmer frame and great practice reports only help.
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Except that he put on the weight in the first place to try and be more effective. Not crazy... sometimes it works. But apparently not for him.
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True, but it's plausible that he didn't need to be "more effective" than he was as a rookie. As you said, sometimes it works, but other times you end up with Felix Jones. The hesitation for me with Anderson is the coaching staff's complete reluctance (and I'm not sure how we can call it anything else) to use him at all outside of blowouts until Hillman gets hurt -- and even with Hillman banged up in the Patriots game, Anderson didn't get any run until the game was completely out of hand.

I know he looked good, and I've been a fan. But the coaches see the players in practice every day, and up until yesterday when Hillman got hurt, we hadn't seen a whole lot of Anderson (and I'll add there have been rumors that Thompson's battling a knee injury, so Anderson may have been the only healthy guy they had - we don't know).

IMO, a fully healthy rookie-year performing Ball takes the job back. Whether he is 1) fully healthy, or 2) as effective/quick as his rookie year, we won't know until they play the game.

 
JFS171 said:
wdcrob said:
oddsbodkins said:
need2know said:
I think ball gets his job back
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I think so too. His slimmer frame and great practice reports only help.
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Except that he put on the weight in the first place to try and be more effective. Not crazy... sometimes it works. But apparently not for him.
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True, but it's plausible that he didn't need to be "more effective" than he was as a rookie. As you said, sometimes it works, but other times you end up with Felix Jones. The hesitation for me with Anderson is the coaching staff's complete reluctance (and I'm not sure how we can call it anything else) to use him at all outside of blowouts until Hillman gets hurt -- and even with Hillman banged up in the Patriots game, Anderson didn't get any run until the game was completely out of hand.

I know he looked good, and I've been a fan. But the coaches see the players in practice every day, and up until yesterday when Hillman got hurt, we hadn't seen a whole lot of Anderson (and I'll add there have been rumors that Thompson's battling a knee injury, so Anderson may have been the only healthy guy they had - we don't know).

IMO, a fully healthy rookie-year performing Ball takes the job back. Whether he is 1) fully healthy, or 2) as effective/quick as his rookie year, we won't know until they play the game.
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As I post that, this blurb pops up on Rotoworld:

Coach John Fox said Monday that the Broncos' running back rotation will depend "first and foremost" on "who's healthy."

This is obvious, but we're searching for any and all possible hints at the projected workloads. The healthiest backs on Denver's roster are C.J. Anderson and Juwan Thompson, with Ronnie Hillman (foot) expected to miss time and Montee Ball on his way back from a multi-week groin injury. Andrew Mason of the Broncos' website tweeted on Monday that he "expects no changes" and the Broncos to "continue to ride the hot hand" in their rushing attack.
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What a ####### quandry. CJ looked good, the touchdown reception was an amazing play, but besides that, most of his runs from what i saw came on some pretty BIG holes. Hilman would have had a field day on the ground would he have been healthy as well. I don't want to take anything away from what he did, but we need to factor that into the equation...... My gut says its 50/50 split next week between CJ and Ball if Hilman cant go, with Ball in on redzone packages.

Doesn't Fox have a record/preference of using one primary back opposed to the brutal (for fantasy purposes) timeshares we are seeing in CLE and DET?

 
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ahartig said:
What a ####### quandry. CJ looked good, the touchdown reception was an amazing play, but besides that, most of his runs from what i saw came on some pretty BIG holes. Hilman would have had a field day on the ground would he have been healthy as well. I don't want to take anything away from what he did, but we need to factor that into the equation...... My gut says its 50/50 split next week between CJ and Ball if Hilman cant go, with Ball in on redzone packages.

Doesn't Fox have a record/preference of using one primary back opposed to the brutal (for fantasy purposes) timeshares we are seeing in CLE and DET?
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depends on who is healthy

Sounds like CJ for now, with a maybe for Ball.

 
obviously, the healthy back is the one to have. the question is which back (CJ vs. Ball) is the one to have when both are healthy. CJ looked great yesterday, but Ball was the starter at the beginning of the season and lost his job to injury. What is Fox's track record for veterans?

we can debate his the possibilities till the cows come home--DEN needs to plan for a healthy roster going into the playoffs. They need to win in order to secure home field (especially after losing big to NE) and keep momentum, so which back gives him the best chance? can CJ protect the ball AND the QB as well as run and score? do they need CJ or Ball to be prolfic when they've got Manning and Thomas and Thomas?--but in the end, it comes down to how Fox likes to rotate RBs (stewart-deangelo at Car) and lean on veterans...i see a 50:50 split until Hillman returns and then back to the 3-headed beast

 
red said:
obviously, the healthy back is the one to have. the question is which back (CJ vs. Ball) is the one to have when both are healthy. CJ looked great yesterday, but Ball was the starter at the beginning of the season and lost his job to injury.
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Ball's overall suckitude would have cost him his job had he not been injured. The future belongs to CJ Anderson.

I'm not sure if it will play itself out next week or next month, but the long term dynasty play is Anderson.

 
Dynasty owners:

In terms of rookie draft pick(s), what would you deem to be current fair value for CJ Anderson?

 
LittlePhatty said:
Combined rush att./rec stats:

Ball = 64 touches for 234/1

Anderson = 38 touches for 279/1
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This says it all! Ball did absolutely NOTHING to warrant getting his job back. I have to imagine they look at game film from Sunday and realiE Anderson is the best RB on their roster

 
Ball appears to have been the least successful of the bunch to me but the NFL is funny. Just based on what we have seen and results I would think CJ, Hillman and Ball in that order, but it will probably be the opposite.

I'm one of the ones who held on to CJ for some time waiting and then dropped him when he fell below J Thompson. :kicksrock:

 
Ball started when they faced some of the tougher defenses on their schedule. I thought Anderson>Hillman all along, but somehow Anderson got in the doghouse right when Ball got injured. Ball/Anderson split against Rams. The best player takes the lead for now. Hillman is done.

 
Think of it this way...

A more talented runner might pick up an extra yard on every touch.

But that yard is worth giving up if the guy can't do things that keep other plays from being huge negatives. A single fumble-causing sack easily offsets the rushing/receiving gains. And that's without factoring in the possibility that your GOAT QB gets hurt or the defense houses the turnover.

So... if Anderson can protect he's got a great shot. But if he can't protect it'll be Ball.

 
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FGITLOTR said:
LittlePhatty said:
Combined rush att./rec stats:

Ball = 64 touches for 234/1

Anderson = 38 touches for 279/1
Click to expand...
This says it all! Ball did absolutely NOTHING to warrant getting his job back. I have to imagine they look at game film from Sunday and realiE Anderson is the best RB on their roster
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There are more factors at play here, i.e. who is the better blocker?

I think both Ball and Anderson will see action. For fantasy though, Anderson would be my bet because he puts up points on fewer touches.

 
LittlePhatty said:
FGITLOTR said:
LittlePhatty said:
Combined rush att./rec stats:

Ball = 64 touches for 234/1

Anderson = 38 touches for 279/1
Click to expand...
This says it all! Ball did absolutely NOTHING to warrant getting his job back. I have to imagine they look at game film from Sunday and realiE Anderson is the best RB on their roster
Click to expand...
There are more factors at play here, i.e. who is the better blocker?

I think both Ball and Anderson will see action. For fantasy though, Anderson would be my bet because he puts up points on fewer touches.
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Exactly! This is the primary role of the RB in Denver's system. Once they get their passing game going, they will then sprinkle in the rushes. However, it's just an afterthought until clock management mode comes into play.

 
Oscar said:
Exactly! This is the primary role of the RB in Denver's system. Once they get their passing game going, they will then sprinkle in the rushes. However, it's just an afterthought until clock management mode comes into play.
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I think you're forgetting a couple of things. Namely, the time of the year and freakishly cold weather about to be unleashed upon us. Bomb cyclones and polar vortexs are going to make the running game a little more than an afterthought pretty soon.

 
So are we really expecting Anderson to supplant Ball or even stay on the active roster once Hillman is healthy in a few weeks? He wasn't even on the roster after Ball got hurt.

I'd love to pick up CJ from the WW but I don't see the stars aligning. He had a good day against a bad team with Hillman hurt and only one other active RB. They stayed with the hot hand but do you really think Ball can't do what's required of him when the staff trusted him enough to put him atop the RB chart to start the season?

I wanna be a believer, but I just don't believe the coaching staff has CJ as anything more than a 3rd stringer.

 
ATB said:
So are we really expecting Anderson to supplant Ball or even stay on the active roster once Hillman is healthy in a few weeks? He wasn't even on the roster after Ball got hurt.

I'd love to pick up CJ from the WW but I don't see the stars aligning. He had a good day against a bad team with Hillman hurt and only one other active RB. They stayed with the hot hand but do you really think Ball can't do what's required of him when the staff trusted him enough to put him atop the RB chart to start the season?

.
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Not right off the bat, I don't think he can.

I have deluded myself that for the next 2-3 weeks Anderson will be the top RB while Hillman sits out (I'm a Hillman owner in a must-win situation with a depleted RB squad). That said, this coming game will say a lot.

 
hes my #1 for this week. not sure if I will get him, but gonna try and grab him and with my bye weeks, Im putting him right in.

he finally got his chance this week and showed his stuff. I can't see why they wouldn't give him more week to seal the deal.

I know its John Fox, but....

 
Braktastic said:
Oscar said:
Exactly! This is the primary role of the RB in Denver's system. Once they get their passing game going, they will then sprinkle in the rushes. However, it's just an afterthought until clock management mode comes into play.
Click to expand...
I think you're forgetting a couple of things. Namely, the time of the year and freakishly cold weather about to be unleashed upon us. Bomb cyclones and polar vortexs are going to make the running game a little more than an afterthought pretty soon.
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I'm not forgetting at all. I think you are forgetting about what team we are talking about...

Let's take the Broncos weeks 13-16 last year for example:

Week 13: Manning through 35 passes for 403 yards; In that game Monte Ball ran the ball 13 times

Week 14: Manning through the ball 59 times; I'll give you this one two RBS had a TD but Moreno/Ball had 14/15 carries each

Week 15: Manning threw the ball 41 times for 289 yards. Knowshon had 8 carries

Week 16: Manning threw 51 passes for 400 yards. Knowshon had 11 carries

Running the ball is not a priority. Sure in a PPR format, the Denver RBs do carry more value, but it's tough to pinpoint who will get Peyton's love each week.

 
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I think Peyton's getting his work in early this year, and will cede the some to the ground game for the playoff run.

just a hunch

 
Oscar said:
Braktastic said:
Oscar said:
Exactly! This is the primary role of the RB in Denver's system. Once they get their passing game going, they will then sprinkle in the rushes. However, it's just an afterthought until clock management mode comes into play.
Click to expand...
I think you're forgetting a couple of things. Namely, the time of the year and freakishly cold weather about to be unleashed upon us. Bomb cyclones and polar vortexs are going to make the running game a little more than an afterthought pretty soon.
Click to expand...
I'm not forgetting at all. I think you are forgetting about what team we are talking about...

Let's take the Broncos weeks 13-16 last year for example:

Week 13: Manning through 35 passes for 403 yards; In that game Monte Ball ran the ball 13 times

Week 14: Manning through the ball 59 times; I'll give you this one two RBS had a TD but Moreno/Ball had 14/15 carries each

Week 15: Manning threw the ball 41 times for 289 yards. Knowshon had 8 carries

Week 16: Manning threw 51 passes for 400 yards. Knowshon had 11 carries

Running the ball is not a priority. Sure in a PPR format, the Denver RBs do carry more value, but it's tough to pinpoint who will get Peyton's love each week.
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I am not sure why you isolated individual RBs, failed to mention the outcome, whether they were at home or on the road or anything about the weather conditions.

Week 11 v KC (W) 43 degrees, 34% humidity, wind 6 mph: Den RBs had 35 carries, 3 receptions

Week 12 @ NE (L) 22 degrees, 29% humidity, wind 22 mph: Den RBs had 44 carries, 4 receptions

Week 13 @ KC (W) 55 degrees, 47% humidity, wind 4 mph: Den RBs had 28 carries, 5 receptions

Week 14 v Ten (W) 18 degrees, 63% humidity, wind 5 mph: Den RBs had 29 carries, 9 receptions

Week 15 v SD (L) 37 degrees, 50% humidity, wind 2 mph: Den RBs had 11 carries, 10 receptions

Week 16 @ Hou (W) Dome closed: Den RBs had 15 carries, 2 receptions

They only played two truly cold games (weeks 12 & 14) and they ran the ball a whole lot in both games. The truth is that the Broncos generally run a lot of plays over the course of a game (certainly well above league average) so there will likely be a lot of carries and passes to go around regardless of the weather.

 
Onions said:
Dynasty owners:

In terms of rookie draft pick(s), what would you deem to be current fair value for CJ Anderson?
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A third round pick. Anderson has been the third back in the offense all season and hasn't proven anything yet. He has a chance and that is why he is worth a third round pick, but I wouldn't give away a second round pick.

 
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