Darren McFadden - Break Down the Tape (1 Viewer)

[CravenM]

I'll continue to say that I think Run DMC is the next coming of Chris Brown: tall, thin-ish, runs upright and is not afraid to take on a LB head on, to his detriment.

I think he'll have flashes like Reggie Bush and Adrian Peterson but ultimately never make it through an entire season healthy.

Draft him and make sure you get his backup because you're going to need it.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

I think he is the most overrated player in next years draft. If you look at many of his "highlight runs" he has huge gaping holes that Bloom could run through.

So you base your opinion of him on SportsCenter?SC doesn't show the "highlight runs" when he beats DBs to the outside and turns the corner, or the 15 yards gains where he blows thru holes that barely exist.People keyed on McFadden on EVERY play...not surprised that his SC reel doesn't impress you.

I don't base my opinions off of highlight reels. Every time that I have watched McFadden...I am not overly impressed by him. He seems to have a nagging injury, is playing QB and making the read on the backside DE to decide to give it to felix jones or not (something that is a gimmic....not going to happen in the NFL), he runs very upright (for all those that had an issue with AD running upright), he is a very fast accelerating RB straight....however his lateral quickness or quick feet, is not something that he excells in, that goes along with his lateral moves....doesn't have very good agility.Is the kid big......yes.....is the kid fast....yes.There are more than Heisman runner-up, stats, 40 times, and size that go into a RB. One of the most important is instincts and knowing how to use his blockers.....something that I don't believe he has.

I know college does not always translate into pro potential and body build can make a difference but give a guy that regularly beat the crap out of SEC defenses on a team that was otherwise not very good with a pretty bad coach and I will take my chances. I think McFadden has a much better chance of being a stud in the pros then say Reggie Bush did when he came out.

Interesting that you used that compare because I am thinking that McFadden will have a pro career similar to Bush's so far. Sho w some flashes and be decent, but not as great as the hype. Totally different games of course. I think that to be a good NFL RB you need to have 3 basic traits: the ability to run in tight spaces, good lateral movement, and good acceleration. Bush has the second 2 traits and showed them in abundance at USC. But in the NFL players are bigger, faster and tougher so he needs to be better at running in tight spaces, with defenders and blockers all around him, than he has been. McFadden has shown decent tight space running, very average lateral movement and great acceleration. In a similar fashion to Bush, I think he is going to be hurt at the NFL level when he won't be able to run in a straight line as much and not be as much faster than the defenders. The bigger NFL defenders will also decrease his running in space ability because he won't be able to try plow through them. He'll need better lateral agility and I'm not sure that's something he can develop. But I could be wrong.

 

[pollardsvision]

no one is saying it, so i will: isn't mcfadden just a poor man's version of reggie bush? blazing speed, but lacking the size and/or power to be an nfl running back.

a punt returner trying to play running back in the nfl.

reggie bush was a waste of a #2 overall pick and i can't see how mcfadden would be any different.

wherever felix jones is drafted, he will end up being a much better value. i'd rather have the guy with the power to consistently turn 1 yard gains into 5 yard gains.

i've seen this rodeo before, bush was supposed to change the RB position forever. people are speaking of mcfadden in similar terms.

comparing mcfadden to adrian peterson in anyway is ludicrous. peterson obviously has great speed, but if wasn't combined with his great power, he'd just be another running back, which is what mcfadden will be.

 

[gump]

no one is saying it, so i will: isn't mcfadden just a poor man's version of reggie bush? blazing speed, but lacking the size and/or power to be an nfl running back.a punt returner trying to play running back in the nfl.reggie bush was a waste of a #2 overall pick and i can't see how mcfadden would be any different.wherever felix jones is drafted, he will end up being a much better value. i'd rather have the guy with the power to consistently turn 1 yard gains into 5 yard gains.

No one is saying it because it's not a good comparison.Your description of Jones is actually more accurate for McFadden.

 

[cartel]

I think he is the most overrated player in next years draft. If you look at many of his "highlight runs" he has huge gaping holes that Bloom could run through.

So you base your opinion of him on SportsCenter?SC doesn't show the "highlight runs" when he beats DBs to the outside and turns the corner, or the 15 yards gains where he blows thru holes that barely exist.People keyed on McFadden on EVERY play...not surprised that his SC reel doesn't impress you.

I don't base my opinions off of highlight reels. Every time that I have watched McFadden...I am not overly impressed by him. He seems to have a nagging injury, is playing QB and making the read on the backside DE to decide to give it to felix jones or not (something that is a gimmic....not going to happen in the NFL), he runs very upright (for all those that had an issue with AD running upright), he is a very fast accelerating RB straight....however his lateral quickness or quick feet, is not something that he excells in, that goes along with his lateral moves....doesn't have very good agility.Is the kid big......yes.....is the kid fast....yes.There are more than Heisman runner-up, stats, 40 times, and size that go into a RB. One of the most important is instincts and knowing how to use his blockers.....something that I don't believe he has.

I know college does not always translate into pro potential and body build can make a difference but give a guy that regularly beat the crap out of SEC defenses on a team that was otherwise not very good with a pretty bad coach and I will take my chances. I think McFadden has a much better chance of being a stud in the pros then say Reggie Bush did when he came out.

Interesting that you used that compare because I am thinking that McFadden will have a pro career similar to Bush's so far. Sho w some flashes and be decent, but not as great as the hype. Totally different games of course. I think that to be a good NFL RB you need to have 3 basic traits: the ability to run in tight spaces, good lateral movement, and good acceleration. Bush has the second 2 traits and showed them in abundance at USC. But in the NFL players are bigger, faster and tougher so he needs to be better at running in tight spaces, with defenders and blockers all around him, than he has been. McFadden has shown decent tight space running, very average lateral movement and great acceleration. In a similar fashion to Bush, I think he is going to be hurt at the NFL level when he won't be able to run in a straight line as much and not be as much faster than the defenders. The bigger NFL defenders will also decrease his running in space ability because he won't be able to try plow through them. He'll need better lateral agility and I'm not sure that's something he can develop. But I could be wrong.

With Bush his inablility to run through tight spaces was glaring (I remember watching game after game and thinking this guy can not run between the tackles). I have not noticed a glaring weakness with Mc Fadden (though now that you have pointed it out I will watch closer for it in the bowl game). I am curious who you think is the best back and why?

 

[ConstruxBoy]

I think he is the most overrated player in next years draft. If you look at many of his "highlight runs" he has huge gaping holes that Bloom could run through.

So you base your opinion of him on SportsCenter?SC doesn't show the "highlight runs" when he beats DBs to the outside and turns the corner, or the 15 yards gains where he blows thru holes that barely exist.People keyed on McFadden on EVERY play...not surprised that his SC reel doesn't impress you.

I don't base my opinions off of highlight reels. Every time that I have watched McFadden...I am not overly impressed by him. He seems to have a nagging injury, is playing QB and making the read on the backside DE to decide to give it to felix jones or not (something that is a gimmic....not going to happen in the NFL), he runs very upright (for all those that had an issue with AD running upright), he is a very fast accelerating RB straight....however his lateral quickness or quick feet, is not something that he excells in, that goes along with his lateral moves....doesn't have very good agility.Is the kid big......yes.....is the kid fast....yes.There are more than Heisman runner-up, stats, 40 times, and size that go into a RB. One of the most important is instincts and knowing how to use his blockers.....something that I don't believe he has.

I know college does not always translate into pro potential and body build can make a difference but give a guy that regularly beat the crap out of SEC defenses on a team that was otherwise not very good with a pretty bad coach and I will take my chances. I think McFadden has a much better chance of being a stud in the pros then say Reggie Bush did when he came out.

Interesting that you used that compare because I am thinking that McFadden will have a pro career similar to Bush's so far. Sho w some flashes and be decent, but not as great as the hype. Totally different games of course. I think that to be a good NFL RB you need to have 3 basic traits: the ability to run in tight spaces, good lateral movement, and good acceleration. Bush has the second 2 traits and showed them in abundance at USC. But in the NFL players are bigger, faster and tougher so he needs to be better at running in tight spaces, with defenders and blockers all around him, than he has been. McFadden has shown decent tight space running, very average lateral movement and great acceleration. In a similar fashion to Bush, I think he is going to be hurt at the NFL level when he won't be able to run in a straight line as much and not be as much faster than the defenders. The bigger NFL defenders will also decrease his running in space ability because he won't be able to try plow through them. He'll need better lateral agility and I'm not sure that's something he can develop. But I could be wrong.

With Bush his inablility to run through tight spaces was glaring (I remember watching game after game and thinking this guy can not run between the tackles). I have not noticed a glaring weakness with Mc Fadden (though now that you have pointed it out I will watch closer for it in the bowl game). I am curious who you think is the best back and why?

Haven't watched enough of all of them yet, but I still do have McFadden as the best in class. I just have Stewart, Mendenhall and Jones much closer to him than I think others do. Another interesting comparison between Bush and McFadden is that they both shared the load in college, Bush with White and McFadden with Jones. Is that a negative? Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams have looked pretty good so far, minus injuries, but probably not quite worth their draft spots. Is sharing the load a bad thing in terms of hiding a RB's deficiencies?

 

[cartel]

I think he is the most overrated player in next years draft. If you look at many of his "highlight runs" he has huge gaping holes that Bloom could run through.

So you base your opinion of him on SportsCenter?SC doesn't show the "highlight runs" when he beats DBs to the outside and turns the corner, or the 15 yards gains where he blows thru holes that barely exist.People keyed on McFadden on EVERY play...not surprised that his SC reel doesn't impress you.

I don't base my opinions off of highlight reels. Every time that I have watched McFadden...I am not overly impressed by him. He seems to have a nagging injury, is playing QB and making the read on the backside DE to decide to give it to felix jones or not (something that is a gimmic....not going to happen in the NFL), he runs very upright (for all those that had an issue with AD running upright), he is a very fast accelerating RB straight....however his lateral quickness or quick feet, is not something that he excells in, that goes along with his lateral moves....doesn't have very good agility.Is the kid big......yes.....is the kid fast....yes.There are more than Heisman runner-up, stats, 40 times, and size that go into a RB. One of the most important is instincts and knowing how to use his blockers.....something that I don't believe he has.

I know college does not always translate into pro potential and body build can make a difference but give a guy that regularly beat the crap out of SEC defenses on a team that was otherwise not very good with a pretty bad coach and I will take my chances. I think McFadden has a much better chance of being a stud in the pros then say Reggie Bush did when he came out.

Interesting that you used that compare because I am thinking that McFadden will have a pro career similar to Bush's so far. Sho w some flashes and be decent, but not as great as the hype. Totally different games of course. I think that to be a good NFL RB you need to have 3 basic traits: the ability to run in tight spaces, good lateral movement, and good acceleration. Bush has the second 2 traits and showed them in abundance at USC. But in the NFL players are bigger, faster and tougher so he needs to be better at running in tight spaces, with defenders and blockers all around him, than he has been. McFadden has shown decent tight space running, very average lateral movement and great acceleration. In a similar fashion to Bush, I think he is going to be hurt at the NFL level when he won't be able to run in a straight line as much and not be as much faster than the defenders. The bigger NFL defenders will also decrease his running in space ability because he won't be able to try plow through them. He'll need better lateral agility and I'm not sure that's something he can develop. But I could be wrong.

With Bush his inablility to run through tight spaces was glaring (I remember watching game after game and thinking this guy can not run between the tackles). I have not noticed a glaring weakness with Mc Fadden (though now that you have pointed it out I will watch closer for it in the bowl game). I am curious who you think is the best back and why?

Haven't watched enough of all of them yet, but I still do have McFadden as the best in class. I just have Stewart, Mendenhall and Jones much closer to him than I think others do. Another interesting comparison between Bush and McFadden is that they both shared the load in college, Bush with White and McFadden with Jones. Is that a negative? Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams have looked pretty good so far, minus injuries, but probably not quite worth their draft spots. Is sharing the load a bad thing in terms of hiding a RB's deficiencies?

I am sitting with the #1 overall pick and have wondered if it is worth trading down. Obviously if D Mc is the next LT it is not but if he is the next Ronnie Brown it would be worth considering...

 

[ConstruxBoy]

I think he is the most overrated player in next years draft. If you look at many of his "highlight runs" he has huge gaping holes that Bloom could run through.

So you base your opinion of him on SportsCenter?SC doesn't show the "highlight runs" when he beats DBs to the outside and turns the corner, or the 15 yards gains where he blows thru holes that barely exist.People keyed on McFadden on EVERY play...not surprised that his SC reel doesn't impress you.

I don't base my opinions off of highlight reels. Every time that I have watched McFadden...I am not overly impressed by him. He seems to have a nagging injury, is playing QB and making the read on the backside DE to decide to give it to felix jones or not (something that is a gimmic....not going to happen in the NFL), he runs very upright (for all those that had an issue with AD running upright), he is a very fast accelerating RB straight....however his lateral quickness or quick feet, is not something that he excells in, that goes along with his lateral moves....doesn't have very good agility.Is the kid big......yes.....is the kid fast....yes.There are more than Heisman runner-up, stats, 40 times, and size that go into a RB. One of the most important is instincts and knowing how to use his blockers.....something that I don't believe he has.

I know college does not always translate into pro potential and body build can make a difference but give a guy that regularly beat the crap out of SEC defenses on a team that was otherwise not very good with a pretty bad coach and I will take my chances. I think McFadden has a much better chance of being a stud in the pros then say Reggie Bush did when he came out.

Interesting that you used that compare because I am thinking that McFadden will have a pro career similar to Bush's so far. Sho w some flashes and be decent, but not as great as the hype. Totally different games of course. I think that to be a good NFL RB you need to have 3 basic traits: the ability to run in tight spaces, good lateral movement, and good acceleration. Bush has the second 2 traits and showed them in abundance at USC. But in the NFL players are bigger, faster and tougher so he needs to be better at running in tight spaces, with defenders and blockers all around him, than he has been. McFadden has shown decent tight space running, very average lateral movement and great acceleration. In a similar fashion to Bush, I think he is going to be hurt at the NFL level when he won't be able to run in a straight line as much and not be as much faster than the defenders. The bigger NFL defenders will also decrease his running in space ability because he won't be able to try plow through them. He'll need better lateral agility and I'm not sure that's something he can develop. But I could be wrong.

With Bush his inablility to run through tight spaces was glaring (I remember watching game after game and thinking this guy can not run between the tackles). I have not noticed a glaring weakness with Mc Fadden (though now that you have pointed it out I will watch closer for it in the bowl game). I am curious who you think is the best back and why?

Haven't watched enough of all of them yet, but I still do have McFadden as the best in class. I just have Stewart, Mendenhall and Jones much closer to him than I think others do. Another interesting comparison between Bush and McFadden is that they both shared the load in college, Bush with White and McFadden with Jones. Is that a negative? Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams have looked pretty good so far, minus injuries, but probably not quite worth their draft spots. Is sharing the load a bad thing in terms of hiding a RB's deficiencies?

I am sitting with the #1 overall pick and have wondered if it is worth trading down. Obviously if D Mc is the next LT it is not but if he is the next Ronnie Brown it would be worth considering...

Too early to tell now, assuming your draft is after the NFL draft. But if someone offered you LT or AD in a dynasty league because they love McFadden, I'd jump on it.

 

[fruity pebbles]

I think he is the most overrated player in next years draft. If you look at many of his "highlight runs" he has huge gaping holes that Bloom could run through.

So you base your opinion of him on SportsCenter?SC doesn't show the "highlight runs" when he beats DBs to the outside and turns the corner, or the 15 yards gains where he blows thru holes that barely exist.People keyed on McFadden on EVERY play...not surprised that his SC reel doesn't impress you.

I don't base my opinions off of highlight reels. Every time that I have watched McFadden...I am not overly impressed by him. He seems to have a nagging injury, is playing QB and making the read on the backside DE to decide to give it to felix jones or not (something that is a gimmic....not going to happen in the NFL), he runs very upright (for all those that had an issue with AD running upright), he is a very fast accelerating RB straight....however his lateral quickness or quick feet, is not something that he excells in, that goes along with his lateral moves....doesn't have very good agility.Is the kid big......yes.....is the kid fast....yes.There are more than Heisman runner-up, stats, 40 times, and size that go into a RB. One of the most important is instincts and knowing how to use his blockers.....something that I don't believe he has.

I know college does not always translate into pro potential and body build can make a difference but give a guy that regularly beat the crap out of SEC defenses on a team that was otherwise not very good with a pretty bad coach and I will take my chances. I think McFadden has a much better chance of being a stud in the pros then say Reggie Bush did when he came out.

Interesting that you used that compare because I am thinking that McFadden will have a pro career similar to Bush's so far. Sho w some flashes and be decent, but not as great as the hype. Totally different games of course. I think that to be a good NFL RB you need to have 3 basic traits: the ability to run in tight spaces, good lateral movement, and good acceleration. Bush has the second 2 traits and showed them in abundance at USC. But in the NFL players are bigger, faster and tougher so he needs to be better at running in tight spaces, with defenders and blockers all around him, than he has been. McFadden has shown decent tight space running, very average lateral movement and great acceleration. In a similar fashion to Bush, I think he is going to be hurt at the NFL level when he won't be able to run in a straight line as much and not be as much faster than the defenders. The bigger NFL defenders will also decrease his running in space ability because he won't be able to try plow through them. He'll need better lateral agility and I'm not sure that's something he can develop. But I could be wrong.

With Bush his inablility to run through tight spaces was glaring (I remember watching game after game and thinking this guy can not run between the tackles). I have not noticed a glaring weakness with Mc Fadden (though now that you have pointed it out I will watch closer for it in the bowl game). I am curious who you think is the best back and why?

Haven't watched enough of all of them yet, but I still do have McFadden as the best in class. I just have Stewart, Mendenhall and Jones much closer to him than I think others do. Another interesting comparison between Bush and McFadden is that they both shared the load in college, Bush with White and McFadden with Jones. Is that a negative? Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams have looked pretty good so far, minus injuries, but probably not quite worth their draft spots. Is sharing the load a bad thing in terms of hiding a RB's deficiencies?

I wouldn't exactly say he shared the load. He had 280 carries last year and over 300 this year.

 

[benson_will_lead_the_way]

I think he is the most overrated player in next years draft. If you look at many of his "highlight runs" he has huge gaping holes that Bloom could run through.

So you base your opinion of him on SportsCenter?SC doesn't show the "highlight runs" when he beats DBs to the outside and turns the corner, or the 15 yards gains where he blows thru holes that barely exist.People keyed on McFadden on EVERY play...not surprised that his SC reel doesn't impress you.

I don't base my opinions off of highlight reels. Every time that I have watched McFadden...I am not overly impressed by him. He seems to have a nagging injury, is playing QB and making the read on the backside DE to decide to give it to felix jones or not (something that is a gimmic....not going to happen in the NFL), he runs very upright (for all those that had an issue with AD running upright), he is a very fast accelerating RB straight....however his lateral quickness or quick feet, is not something that he excells in, that goes along with his lateral moves....doesn't have very good agility.Is the kid big......yes.....is the kid fast....yes.There are more than Heisman runner-up, stats, 40 times, and size that go into a RB. One of the most important is instincts and knowing how to use his blockers.....something that I don't believe he has.

I know college does not always translate into pro potential and body build can make a difference but give a guy that regularly beat the crap out of SEC defenses on a team that was otherwise not very good with a pretty bad coach and I will take my chances. I think McFadden has a much better chance of being a stud in the pros then say Reggie Bush did when he came out.

Interesting that you used that compare because I am thinking that McFadden will have a pro career similar to Bush's so far. Sho w some flashes and be decent, but not as great as the hype. Totally different games of course. I think that to be a good NFL RB you need to have 3 basic traits: the ability to run in tight spaces, good lateral movement, and good acceleration. Bush has the second 2 traits and showed them in abundance at USC. But in the NFL players are bigger, faster and tougher so he needs to be better at running in tight spaces, with defenders and blockers all around him, than he has been. McFadden has shown decent tight space running, very average lateral movement and great acceleration. In a similar fashion to Bush, I think he is going to be hurt at the NFL level when he won't be able to run in a straight line as much and not be as much faster than the defenders. The bigger NFL defenders will also decrease his running in space ability because he won't be able to try plow through them. He'll need better lateral agility and I'm not sure that's something he can develop. But I could be wrong.

With Bush his inablility to run through tight spaces was glaring (I remember watching game after game and thinking this guy can not run between the tackles). I have not noticed a glaring weakness with Mc Fadden (though now that you have pointed it out I will watch closer for it in the bowl game). I am curious who you think is the best back and why?

Haven't watched enough of all of them yet, but I still do have McFadden as the best in class. I just have Stewart, Mendenhall and Jones much closer to him than I think others do. Another interesting comparison between Bush and McFadden is that they both shared the load in college, Bush with White and McFadden with Jones. Is that a negative? Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams have looked pretty good so far, minus injuries, but probably not quite worth their draft spots. Is sharing the load a bad thing in terms of hiding a RB's deficiencies?

I am sitting with the #1 overall pick and have wondered if it is worth trading down. Obviously if D Mc is the next LT it is not but if he is the next Ronnie Brown it would be worth considering...

Too early to tell now, assuming your draft is after the NFL draft. But if someone offered you LT or AD in a dynasty league because they love McFadden, I'd jump on it.

If you can get two top 5 picks for your 1 I would do it. With Mcfadden, stewart, mend, felix, slaton/ray rice, I would much rather have two of them than just mcfadden.

 

[cartel]

I think he is the most overrated player in next years draft. If you look at many of his "highlight runs" he has huge gaping holes that Bloom could run through.

So you base your opinion of him on SportsCenter?SC doesn't show the "highlight runs" when he beats DBs to the outside and turns the corner, or the 15 yards gains where he blows thru holes that barely exist.People keyed on McFadden on EVERY play...not surprised that his SC reel doesn't impress you.

I don't base my opinions off of highlight reels. Every time that I have watched McFadden...I am not overly impressed by him. He seems to have a nagging injury, is playing QB and making the read on the backside DE to decide to give it to felix jones or not (something that is a gimmic....not going to happen in the NFL), he runs very upright (for all those that had an issue with AD running upright), he is a very fast accelerating RB straight....however his lateral quickness or quick feet, is not something that he excells in, that goes along with his lateral moves....doesn't have very good agility.Is the kid big......yes.....is the kid fast....yes.There are more than Heisman runner-up, stats, 40 times, and size that go into a RB. One of the most important is instincts and knowing how to use his blockers.....something that I don't believe he has.

I know college does not always translate into pro potential and body build can make a difference but give a guy that regularly beat the crap out of SEC defenses on a team that was otherwise not very good with a pretty bad coach and I will take my chances. I think McFadden has a much better chance of being a stud in the pros then say Reggie Bush did when he came out.

Interesting that you used that compare because I am thinking that McFadden will have a pro career similar to Bush's so far. Sho w some flashes and be decent, but not as great as the hype. Totally different games of course. I think that to be a good NFL RB you need to have 3 basic traits: the ability to run in tight spaces, good lateral movement, and good acceleration. Bush has the second 2 traits and showed them in abundance at USC. But in the NFL players are bigger, faster and tougher so he needs to be better at running in tight spaces, with defenders and blockers all around him, than he has been. McFadden has shown decent tight space running, very average lateral movement and great acceleration. In a similar fashion to Bush, I think he is going to be hurt at the NFL level when he won't be able to run in a straight line as much and not be as much faster than the defenders. The bigger NFL defenders will also decrease his running in space ability because he won't be able to try plow through them. He'll need better lateral agility and I'm not sure that's something he can develop. But I could be wrong.

With Bush his inablility to run through tight spaces was glaring (I remember watching game after game and thinking this guy can not run between the tackles). I have not noticed a glaring weakness with Mc Fadden (though now that you have pointed it out I will watch closer for it in the bowl game). I am curious who you think is the best back and why?

Haven't watched enough of all of them yet, but I still do have McFadden as the best in class. I just have Stewart, Mendenhall and Jones much closer to him than I think others do. Another interesting comparison between Bush and McFadden is that they both shared the load in college, Bush with White and McFadden with Jones. Is that a negative? Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams have looked pretty good so far, minus injuries, but probably not quite worth their draft spots. Is sharing the load a bad thing in terms of hiding a RB's deficiencies?

I am sitting with the #1 overall pick and have wondered if it is worth trading down. Obviously if D Mc is the next LT it is not but if he is the next Ronnie Brown it would be worth considering...

Too early to tell now, assuming your draft is after the NFL draft. But if someone offered you LT or AD in a dynasty league because they love McFadden, I'd jump on it.

If you can get two top 5 picks for your 1 I would do it. With Mcfadden, stewart, mend, felix, slaton/ray rice, I would much rather have two of them than just mcfadden.

Was not really looking for advice just discussion. It seems like many here do not see a sig drop off between Mc Fadden and the next 3-4 RB's (though I have some real reservations about Slaton)...

 

[EBF]

The McFadden = Bush comparison isn't a good one in terms of playing style, but I could see their impact in the pro game being similar. I have no doubt that McFadden will make some big plays in the NFL. My concern is that he doesn't really have the body of a featured back and won't be a guy who can handle a full workload. In that sense he's similar to Norwood and Bush (although I still think Bush could conceivably be an every down back).

If I had the #1 pick this year I would probably try to move down to #2 or maybe #3. As of right now I'm not convinced that McFadden in New York/Oakland/New England will be a better FF bet than Stewart/Mendenhall/Jones in Houston/Seattle. That might sound crazy right now, but Joseph Addai has been the best back from the 2006 draft and I don't think you would've found ANYONE saying he was better than Bush prior to the draft.

My point here is that in the NFL, a good back in a good situation is often more valuable than a very good back in a bad situation. That said, it all comes down to your evaluation of McFadden. Is he the next OJ Simpson or an overrated niche player? I haven't completely decided yet, but I'm leaning towards the latter. I love his speed and acceleration. I think he's going to help a team win games. But as for him being the next great FF back, I have my doubts.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

I think he is the most overrated player in next years draft. If you look at many of his "highlight runs" he has huge gaping holes that Bloom could run through.

So you base your opinion of him on SportsCenter?SC doesn't show the "highlight runs" when he beats DBs to the outside and turns the corner, or the 15 yards gains where he blows thru holes that barely exist.People keyed on McFadden on EVERY play...not surprised that his SC reel doesn't impress you.

I don't base my opinions off of highlight reels. Every time that I have watched McFadden...I am not overly impressed by him. He seems to have a nagging injury, is playing QB and making the read on the backside DE to decide to give it to felix jones or not (something that is a gimmic....not going to happen in the NFL), he runs very upright (for all those that had an issue with AD running upright), he is a very fast accelerating RB straight....however his lateral quickness or quick feet, is not something that he excells in, that goes along with his lateral moves....doesn't have very good agility.Is the kid big......yes.....is the kid fast....yes.There are more than Heisman runner-up, stats, 40 times, and size that go into a RB. One of the most important is instincts and knowing how to use his blockers.....something that I don't believe he has.

I know college does not always translate into pro potential and body build can make a difference but give a guy that regularly beat the crap out of SEC defenses on a team that was otherwise not very good with a pretty bad coach and I will take my chances. I think McFadden has a much better chance of being a stud in the pros then say Reggie Bush did when he came out.

Interesting that you used that compare because I am thinking that McFadden will have a pro career similar to Bush's so far. Sho w some flashes and be decent, but not as great as the hype. Totally different games of course. I think that to be a good NFL RB you need to have 3 basic traits: the ability to run in tight spaces, good lateral movement, and good acceleration. Bush has the second 2 traits and showed them in abundance at USC. But in the NFL players are bigger, faster and tougher so he needs to be better at running in tight spaces, with defenders and blockers all around him, than he has been. McFadden has shown decent tight space running, very average lateral movement and great acceleration. In a similar fashion to Bush, I think he is going to be hurt at the NFL level when he won't be able to run in a straight line as much and not be as much faster than the defenders. The bigger NFL defenders will also decrease his running in space ability because he won't be able to try plow through them. He'll need better lateral agility and I'm not sure that's something he can develop. But I could be wrong.

With Bush his inablility to run through tight spaces was glaring (I remember watching game after game and thinking this guy can not run between the tackles). I have not noticed a glaring weakness with Mc Fadden (though now that you have pointed it out I will watch closer for it in the bowl game). I am curious who you think is the best back and why?

Haven't watched enough of all of them yet, but I still do have McFadden as the best in class. I just have Stewart, Mendenhall and Jones much closer to him than I think others do. Another interesting comparison between Bush and McFadden is that they both shared the load in college, Bush with White and McFadden with Jones. Is that a negative? Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams have looked pretty good so far, minus injuries, but probably not quite worth their draft spots. Is sharing the load a bad thing in terms of hiding a RB's deficiencies?

I wouldn't exactly say he shared the load. He had 280 carries last year and over 300 this year.

Eh..we should just split the middle. Guys like Bush and Ronnie Brown had around 215 touches or so a year. But guys like Tomlinson, Peterson (his non-injury year) and Ricky Williams had about 375 touches a year in college.

 

[Two Deep]

Watching video of McFadden makes me think of Marcus Allen, they have very similar running styles. I just hope McFadden can score a #### load of 1 yard plunges at the goal line like Allen did.

 

[happy_donut]

I think he is the most overrated player in next years draft. If you look at many of his "highlight runs" he has huge gaping holes that Bloom could run through.

So you base your opinion of him on SportsCenter?SC doesn't show the "highlight runs" when he beats DBs to the outside and turns the corner, or the 15 yards gains where he blows thru holes that barely exist.

People keyed on McFadden on EVERY play...not surprised that his SC reel doesn't impress you.

I don't base my opinions off of highlight reels. Every time that I have watched McFadden...I am not overly impressed by him. He seems to have a nagging injury, is playing QB and making the read on the backside DE to decide to give it to felix jones or not (something that is a gimmic....not going to happen in the NFL), he runs very upright (for all those that had an issue with AD running upright), he is a very fast accelerating RB straight....however his lateral quickness or quick feet, is not something that he excells in, that goes along with his lateral moves....doesn't have very good agility.Is the kid big......yes.....is the kid fast....yes.

There are more than Heisman runner-up, stats, 40 times, and size that go into a RB. One of the most important is instincts and knowing how to use his blockers.....something that I don't believe he has.

I know college does not always translate into pro potential and body build can make a difference but give a guy that regularly beat the crap out of SEC defenses on a team that was otherwise not very good with a pretty bad coach and I will take my chances. I think McFadden has a much better chance of being a stud in the pros then say Reggie Bush did when he came out.

Interesting that you used that compare because I am thinking that McFadden will have a pro career similar to Bush's so far. Sho w some flashes and be decent, but not as great as the hype. Totally different games of course. I think that to be a good NFL RB you need to have 3 basic traits: the ability to run in tight spaces, good lateral movement, and good acceleration. Bush has the second 2 traits and showed them in abundance at USC. But in the NFL players are bigger, faster and tougher so he needs to be better at running in tight spaces, with defenders and blockers all around him, than he has been. McFadden has shown decent tight space running, very average lateral movement and great acceleration. In a similar fashion to Bush, I think he is going to be hurt at the NFL level when he won't be able to run in a straight line as much and not be as much faster than the defenders. The bigger NFL defenders will also decrease his running in space ability because he won't be able to try plow through them. He'll need better lateral agility and I'm not sure that's something he can develop.

But I could be wrong.

With Bush his inablility to run through tight spaces was glaring (I remember watching game after game and thinking this guy can not run between the tackles). I have not noticed a glaring weakness with Mc Fadden (though now that you have pointed it out I will watch closer for it in the bowl game). I am curious who you think is the best back and why?

Haven't watched enough of all of them yet, but I still do have McFadden as the best in class. I just have Stewart, Mendenhall and Jones much closer to him than I think others do. Another interesting comparison between Bush and McFadden is that they both shared the load in college, Bush with White and McFadden with Jones. Is that a negative? Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams have looked pretty good so far, minus injuries, but probably not quite worth their draft spots. Is sharing the load a bad thing in terms of hiding a RB's deficiencies?

Another way of looking at the bolded part might be that it's more a positive for Stewart and Mendenhall, who have both shown they can carry a full load of carries. Much like Addai had before the 2006 draft.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

I think he is the most overrated player in next years draft. If you look at many of his "highlight runs" he has huge gaping holes that Bloom could run through.

So you base your opinion of him on SportsCenter?SC doesn't show the "highlight runs" when he beats DBs to the outside and turns the corner, or the 15 yards gains where he blows thru holes that barely exist.

People keyed on McFadden on EVERY play...not surprised that his SC reel doesn't impress you.

I don't base my opinions off of highlight reels. Every time that I have watched McFadden...I am not overly impressed by him. He seems to have a nagging injury, is playing QB and making the read on the backside DE to decide to give it to felix jones or not (something that is a gimmic....not going to happen in the NFL), he runs very upright (for all those that had an issue with AD running upright), he is a very fast accelerating RB straight....however his lateral quickness or quick feet, is not something that he excells in, that goes along with his lateral moves....doesn't have very good agility.Is the kid big......yes.....is the kid fast....yes.

There are more than Heisman runner-up, stats, 40 times, and size that go into a RB. One of the most important is instincts and knowing how to use his blockers.....something that I don't believe he has.

I know college does not always translate into pro potential and body build can make a difference but give a guy that regularly beat the crap out of SEC defenses on a team that was otherwise not very good with a pretty bad coach and I will take my chances. I think McFadden has a much better chance of being a stud in the pros then say Reggie Bush did when he came out.

Interesting that you used that compare because I am thinking that McFadden will have a pro career similar to Bush's so far. Sho w some flashes and be decent, but not as great as the hype. Totally different games of course. I think that to be a good NFL RB you need to have 3 basic traits: the ability to run in tight spaces, good lateral movement, and good acceleration. Bush has the second 2 traits and showed them in abundance at USC. But in the NFL players are bigger, faster and tougher so he needs to be better at running in tight spaces, with defenders and blockers all around him, than he has been. McFadden has shown decent tight space running, very average lateral movement and great acceleration. In a similar fashion to Bush, I think he is going to be hurt at the NFL level when he won't be able to run in a straight line as much and not be as much faster than the defenders. The bigger NFL defenders will also decrease his running in space ability because he won't be able to try plow through them. He'll need better lateral agility and I'm not sure that's something he can develop.

But I could be wrong.

With Bush his inablility to run through tight spaces was glaring (I remember watching game after game and thinking this guy can not run between the tackles). I have not noticed a glaring weakness with Mc Fadden (though now that you have pointed it out I will watch closer for it in the bowl game). I am curious who you think is the best back and why?

Haven't watched enough of all of them yet, but I still do have McFadden as the best in class. I just have Stewart, Mendenhall and Jones much closer to him than I think others do. Another interesting comparison between Bush and McFadden is that they both shared the load in college, Bush with White and McFadden with Jones. Is that a negative? Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams have looked pretty good so far, minus injuries, but probably not quite worth their draft spots. Is sharing the load a bad thing in terms of hiding a RB's deficiencies?

Another way of looking at the bolded part might be that it's more a positive for Stewart and Mendenhall, who have both shown they can carry a full load of carries. Much like Addai had before the 2006 draft.

Good point about Addai. He had concerns for that reason heading into the draft and has looked the best RB in the class so far, or close to it.

 

[switz]

Haven't watched enough of all of them yet, but I still do have McFadden as the best in class. I just have Stewart, Mendenhall and Jones much closer to him than I think others do. Another interesting comparison between Bush and McFadden is that they both shared the load in college, Bush with White and McFadden with Jones. Is that a negative? Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams have looked pretty good so far, minus injuries, but probably not quite worth their draft spots. Is sharing the load a bad thing in terms of hiding a RB's deficiencies?

Another way of looking at the bolded part might be that it's more a positive for Stewart and Mendenhall, who have both shown they can carry a full load of carries. Much like Addai had before the 2006 draft.

Hold on... When Addai was drafted there WERE questions whether he could carry the load, he had always split time, and was always slightly nicked up...revisionist history?

 

[happy_donut]

Haven't watched enough of all of them yet, but I still do have McFadden as the best in class. I just have Stewart, Mendenhall and Jones much closer to him than I think others do. Another interesting comparison between Bush and McFadden is that they both shared the load in college, Bush with White and McFadden with Jones. Is that a negative? Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams have looked pretty good so far, minus injuries, but probably not quite worth their draft spots. Is sharing the load a bad thing in terms of hiding a RB's deficiencies?

Another way of looking at the bolded part might be that it's more a positive for Stewart and Mendenhall, who have both shown they can carry a full load of carries. Much like Addai had before the 2006 draft.

Hold on... When Addai was drafted there WERE questions whether he could carry the load, he had always split time, and was always slightly nicked up...revisionist history?

That's my bad. For some reason I thought he had carried the load for LSU. According to this:http://nfldraft.rivals.com/cviewplayer.asp...amp;player=8645

He did not. Did he really only have 187 carries in 2005?

 

[Kegs & Eggs]

Watching video of McFadden makes me think of Marcus Allen, they have very similar running styles. I just hope McFadden can score a #### load of 1 yard plunges at the goal line like Allen did.

I agree completely Two Deep. He does look like Marcus when he runs and I think he will have a very good NFL career. He may not be Marcus Allen, but I think he will be very good. Allen was 6 foot 2 inches and 210lbs, while Dmac is 6 foot 2 inches and 205lbs. They are built virtually the same, so I can't see his lack of power running holding him back as it never hurt Marcus Allen.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

Haven't watched enough of all of them yet, but I still do have McFadden as the best in class. I just have Stewart, Mendenhall and Jones much closer to him than I think others do. Another interesting comparison between Bush and McFadden is that they both shared the load in college, Bush with White and McFadden with Jones. Is that a negative? Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams have looked pretty good so far, minus injuries, but probably not quite worth their draft spots. Is sharing the load a bad thing in terms of hiding a RB's deficiencies?

Another way of looking at the bolded part might be that it's more a positive for Stewart and Mendenhall, who have both shown they can carry a full load of carries. Much like Addai had before the 2006 draft.

Hold on... When Addai was drafted there WERE questions whether he could carry the load, he had always split time, and was always slightly nicked up...revisionist history?

I assumed that he meant that Addai DID have questions coming out because he didn't carry the load. My bad. I'm actually doing a study right now, hopefully for NFLDraftGuys, comparing touches per game the last year in college for first day RBs drafted since 2001 and seeing if it correlates at all to NFL Fantasy success. Probably not, but worth the effort to see.

 

[Cookiemonster]

Haven't watched enough of all of them yet, but I still do have McFadden as the best in class. I just have Stewart, Mendenhall and Jones much closer to him than I think others do. Another interesting comparison between Bush and McFadden is that they both shared the load in college, Bush with White and McFadden with Jones. Is that a negative? Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams have looked pretty good so far, minus injuries, but probably not quite worth their draft spots. Is sharing the load a bad thing in terms of hiding a RB's deficiencies?

Another way of looking at the bolded part might be that it's more a positive for Stewart and Mendenhall, who have both shown they can carry a full load of carries. Much like Addai had before the 2006 draft.

Hold on... When Addai was drafted there WERE questions whether he could carry the load, he had always split time, and was always slightly nicked up...revisionist history?

That's my bad. For some reason I thought he had carried the load for LSU. According to this:http://nfldraft.rivals.com/cviewplayer.asp...amp;player=8645

He did not. Did he really only have 187 carries in 2005?

LSU has had a good stable for several years now, and haven't typically relied on one guy. Addai had very solid combine #s, and was rated and a good pass catcher and very good blocker. Tailor made for the Colts and I'm not sure he would have gone within ten picks of where the Colts took him.

 

[Riffraff]

McFadden should be available for today's bowl game. He's under investigation for rules violation.

27 Dec - http://www.todaysthv.com/sports/story.aspx?storyid=58145

1 Jan - http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5414845.html

 

[identikit]

McFadden should be available for today's bowl game. He's under investigation for rules violation.

27 Dec - http://www.todaysthv.com/sports/story.aspx?storyid=58145

1 Jan - http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/5414845.html

Oh he's ready; he's playing right now, in the 2nd quarter....

Id

 

[ConstruxBoy]

Game thread is here

 

[Cookiemonster]

My last shot to see McFadden B4 the NFL and again am sweet & sour. Best RB prospect physically, but vision is sub-standard. I can't think of anybody else I'd draft as a dynasty 1.01, but I wouldn't trade up to get him. FWIW, I gave up two 1st round picks for the 1.01 (AD).

 

[coolnerd]

My last shot to see McFadden B4 the NFL and again am sweet & sour. Best RB prospect physically, but vision is sub-standard. I can't think of anybody else I'd draft as a dynasty 1.01, but I wouldn't trade up to get him. FWIW, I gave up two 1st round picks for the 1.01 (AD).

McFadden appears to over rely on his ability to be bigger, stronger and faster than his oppnents. He has the obvious pure physical skill, but if he does not learn the other stuff (setting up blocks, not taking extra hits, etc) he will disappoint. Honestly, if a guy like Stewart ends up in an outstanding situation, i could see someone with the FF#1 going in another direction.

 

[Raider Nation]

The one thing I'm looking most forward to this offseason is finding out where this kid ends up.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

My last shot to see McFadden B4 the NFL and again am sweet & sour. Best RB prospect physically, but vision is sub-standard. I can't think of anybody else I'd draft as a dynasty 1.01, but I wouldn't trade up to get him. FWIW, I gave up two 1st round picks for the 1.01 (AD).

McFadden appears to over rely on his ability to be bigger, stronger and faster than his oppnents. He has the obvious pure physical skill, but if he does not learn the other stuff (setting up blocks, not taking extra hits, etc) he will disappoint. Honestly, if a guy like Stewart ends up in an outstanding situation, i could see someone with the FF#1 going in another direction.

We had a good discussion about this back in that thread where wdcrob had his RB rankings, IIRC. Bigger RBs have it harder adjusting to the NFL because they have always been able to bowl defenders over. It becomes their first instinct. I saw it today in the Cotton Bowl when McFadden had a run up the middle. A linebacker was alone in the hole, so McFadden instead tried to bowl through a blocker and 2 defenders in the other direction because that was his first instinct, try to run through someone. A smaller back with good lateral quickness would likely have had a different first instinct: that's a LB, he's somewhat flat footed, I can juke him. I really think that if the ball carrier had been Felix Jones on that play, he would have turned toward the LB and then tried to fake him out. In most cases in the NFL, in my opinion, the juke instinct is better than the bowl defenders over instinct. So I think bigger RBs have a tougher time adjusting to the NFL because they still have that first instinct to bowl defenders over instead of making the defender miss and saving the wear and tear.

 

[money.never.sleeps]

Though I found your analysis a bit negative concerning McFadden, I would have to agree with it for the most part. I think from an NFL prospective that eventhough McFadden is more of a straight line runner, he takes a yard when he can get it instead of trying to juke and that is what you want at the next level.

I'm curious to how you feel about the next best back from an NFL prospective. I traded up for a 5th pick in our dynasty rookie draft and am in a bind about Felix Jones who I think will leave and John Stewart. I know a bit of topic but I concure with your view on McFadden. A huge talent but may not be as high ceiling as a guy like Adrian Peterson when it comes to running the rock.

Good news! With the 5th pick, you probably won't find yourself having to make that decision. Both of those guys will be gone.

The league is an IDP in which LB is the heavy point maker... and there are 2 teams ahead of me who are good at RB and both need QB, DE. I expect that 1/2 will be available, probably Jones. Im going to take Laurinaitis or Erin Henderson regardless.

 

[Poppa]

 

[money.never.sleeps]

I'll say this... with all the negative aspect of lower body muscle, small hips, and lack of "power," the guy is almost a complete back running and catching. He hits the hole quick and hard and explodes. I do not see any player in the NFL that compares. Not Reggie Bush or Chris Brown, etc. McFadden also got the rock 30+ times a game a few times and only got stronger at the end. Portis is almost same type of back, not alot of moves but pure explosiveness. That alone can make you a star.

I got offered a trade to deal McFadden for AD. I want to take it but the kid in my eyes is special and will be a top RB. Peterson is special also and is more complete in regards to physical tools not overall tools.

 

[Jedimaster21]

I'll say this... with all the negative aspect of lower body muscle, small hips, and lack of "power," the guy is almost a complete back running and catching. He hits the hole quick and hard and explodes. I do not see any player in the NFL that compares. Not Reggie Bush or Chris Brown, etc. McFadden also got the rock 30+ times a game a few times and only got stronger at the end. Portis is almost same type of back, not alot of moves but pure explosiveness. That alone can make you a star.I got offered a trade to deal McFadden for AD. I want to take it but the kid in my eyes is special and will be a top RB. Peterson is special also and is more complete in regards to physical tools not overall tools.

If you can get Peterson for McFadden at this point, you would be wise to jump on it. Peterson was a better prospect coming out, and has already proven he can dominate at the NFL level. McFadden seems to be talented, but has a myriad of question marks surrounding him.

 

[Mr. Peterson]

Some guy is going to pimp McFadden in 5...4...3...2...1.......

 

[darrenmcfadden]

Its nice to see that all the McFadden haters can come together and all hate on the guy. Everyone on this stie is probably a bunch of pac-10 fans who think that there conference is better than the SEC. You know that McFadden only played for 3 years and is the second all-time rusher in the SEC only behind hershel walker, and ahead of emitt smith and bo jackson. he also threw 12 TDs in his career, how many has adrian peterson thrown?

here's some highlights from 06. watch the first one and comeback and argue that he can only run through giant holes. he ran right up the "9 man in the box" gut of the #1 defense on the country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ-bTAHYCxo

he was the best player in the country for the last 2 years and should be a 2 time heisman winner. He without doubt the most unique player that has player football this decade and he will have a giant NFL career and make everyone on here look stupid, just like what hes been doing to SEC linebackers and safeties for the last 3 years.

 

[Spike]

Its nice to see that all the McFadden haters can come together and all hate on the guy. Everyone on this stie is probably a bunch of pac-10 fans who think that there conference is better than the SEC. You know that McFadden only played for 3 years and is the second all-time rusher in the SEC only behind hershel walker, and ahead of emitt smith and bo jackson. he also threw 12 TDs in his career, how many has adrian peterson thrown?

here's some highlights from 06. watch the first one and comeback and argue that he can only run through giant holes. he ran right up the "9 man in the box" gut of the #1 defense on the country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ-bTAHYCxo

he was the best player in the country for the last 2 years and should be a 2 time heisman winner. He without doubt the most unique player that has player football this decade and he will have a giant NFL career and make everyone on here look stupid, just like what hes been doing to SEC linebackers and safeties for the last 3 years.

Um, is that really a criterion you want to use in a comparison of RBs?

 

[Chaos Commish]

Its nice to see that all the McFadden haters can come together and all hate on the guy. Everyone on this stie is probably a bunch of pac-10 fans who think that there conference is better than the SEC. You know that McFadden only played for 3 years and is the second all-time rusher in the SEC only behind hershel walker, and ahead of emitt smith and bo jackson. he also threw 12 TDs in his career, how many has adrian peterson thrown?

here's some highlights from 06. watch the first one and comeback and argue that he can only run through giant holes. he ran right up the "9 man in the box" gut of the #1 defense on the country.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ-bTAHYCxo

he was the best player in the country for the last 2 years and should be a 2 time heisman winner. He without doubt the most unique player that has player football this decade and he will have a giant NFL career and make everyone on here look stupid, just like what hes been doing to SEC linebackers and safeties for the last 3 years.

McFadden is a tough dude who runs violently and never whines or backs down from a fight, even in a bar. You sir, are far too whiny to be darrenmcfadden.

 

[Mr. Peterson]

Some guy is going to pimp McFadden in 5...4...3...2...1.......

Man, I'm good.

 

[Burning Sensation]

Some guy is going to pimp McFadden in 5...4...3...2...1.......

Man, I'm good.

Wow, funny you would know anything about pimping a player.

 

[benson_will_lead_the_way]

I think he is the most overrated player in next years draft. If you look at many of his "highlight runs" he has huge gaping holes that Bloom could run through.

I saw this awhile ago.