Isiah Pead>Darryl Richardson.

[JFS171]

There's a lot of O-line issues and OC issues here, but there's still likely to be some value from the RB position. I was personally surprised how utterly terrible Richardson was at blocking last night - he got blown up by linebackers repeatedly.

Cunningham looked good on his catch, but he too had zero room to run last night. If he becomes the passing down guy, however (role Pead had in the Dallas game) then there's potential flex value to be had there.

O-line is certainly problematic, but those issues can somewhat come together through the season as the unit learns to play better together -- a sort of whole is greater than the sum of its parts type deal. But idk how you fix an OC.

This team looks really bad.

 

[Touchdown There]

I had Pead and Richardson and I feel so confident that Pead is the going to be the guy I moved D-rich in a trade and kept Pead by himself.

Oooops

Let me get this straight. You have 28 posts on this board and you are calling out individuals who have put down opinions on the 2013 NFL season prior to week 1? It is still August. You do know they play 16 games?

WOW GUY

This backfield is not going to be fantasy relevant. 60-40, 55-45, 50-50, who cares? Richardson is at best a flex play during bye weeks.

Come back Bazinga!

 

[renesauz]

Well, since he hasn't seen the field yet in the 2nd half it will be even harder for him to see a crease...

no...but we can watch his backup not finding the crease as well.Watch replays of Gore's big runs tonight...he was untouched through the LOS on all of them. No question none of the Rams RBs are remotely close to as talented, but the difference in blocking is HUGE and generally under-appreciated/understood by fantasy footballers

Speaking for myself, I completely understand that a successful run game is dependent on other factors besides the Rb, but a relented Rb is able to create somewhat even when the I line isn't opening holes. Bounce the run to the outside if you have to. Change direction. Use jump cuts. Anything. But to just plod into your own linemen when you know you aren't going to get more than a yard or 2...you just suck at that pt. great RBS find a way.

Agreed...great RBs find a way. But....who said Richardson was great? There are generally not more than a hnadful of great RBs playing any given year. For the other 25 or so RBs starting in the NFL on any given week...they generally need a LITTLE bit of blocking, and right now the Saint Louis Rams aren't giving that LITTLE BIT of blocking to their RBs. All of the "Richardson sucks" talk is short-sighted until he gets some semblance of blocking that remotely approaches average.

In situations like this, it's best to temper expectations. In redraft, look for other options. In dynasty, hold and pray for better days. Average RBs recover as their blocking recovers.

Relax, Richardson-drafter before you start issuing fantasy advice.

There are very few players I don't own somewhere among my 18 or so teams (counting contest leagues, survivors, redrafts and 7 dynasty), but RIchardson is only on 2 or 3 of them.

WHat I'm arguing about really has little to do with Richardson, but the propensity among many fantasy footballers to go googly eyes over one RB or another and poo-poo another RB without carefully watching the O-line play to see what was actually there to be had. Such an approach is fine in redraft, but a huge portion of the FBG Shark Pool community plays in dynasty leagues, and this kind of thinking simply won't work longer term.

 

[renesauz]

Well, since he hasn't seen the field yet in the 2nd half it will be even harder for him to see a crease...

no...but we can watch his backup not finding the crease as well.

Watch replays of Gore's big runs tonight...he was untouched through the LOS on all of them. No question none of the Rams RBs are remotely close to as talented, but the difference in blocking is HUGE and generally under-appreciated/understood by fantasy footballers

Speaking of blocking, Richardson's sucks. He got totally knocked on his butt on one play, leading to a sack.

NOt the first RB to get creamed on a bull rush from a LB out-weighing him by 50 pounds, and certainly won't be the last. HIs blocking was better than that of his O-line most of the night.

 

[Routilla]

Time to cut D-Rich if you have not already. No STL RBs are worth rostering.

 

[Ketamine Dreams]

Time to cut D-Rich if you have not already. No STL RBs are worth rostering.

I'm strongly leaning that way in redraft. Am holding for the moment in dynasty. The Rams play Jax next week. Maybe see what happens then.

 

[Chaka]

The loss of Roger Saffold seems to be having a hug impact on the entire offensive line, I thought with the addition of Long they would be improved as an offense across the board but giving up 11 sacks in the last two games is terrible even with the loss of Saffold.

Perhaps Brian Schottenheimer just sucks as an offensive coordinator and his teams should just be avoided from a fantasy perspective.

The addition of Long is more important in the passing game than the running game. Tackles help protect QB's more than they open holes for RB's.

Schott is terrible. But do we ditch the OC so the QB has something like his sixth OC or HC in his career? Interception in SF territory and then three straight incompletions. Not a single run.

I was actually excited that they scored in the first quarter.How sad is that...

Tackles are plenty important for opening holes for RBs, you would hope that a guy like Long would help all aspects of the offense. The bottom line is that the Rams oline has underperformed in the run game all season and since Saffold went down it has gotten significantly worse in both the run and pass games.

In the first two games with Saffold opponents had 0 sacks and the Rams averaged 325 pass yards/game (5 TDs) a paltry 68 rush yards/game. In the last two games, without Saffold, they have given up 11 sacks and are averaging a lowly 183 pass yards/game (2 TDs) and a mind-blowingly horrific 23.5 rush yards/game.

Not sure it is fair to put it all on Saffold, SF & Dal are probably better defenses than Atl & Ari, but my goodness that is a big change.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Time to cut D-Rich if you have not already. No STL RBs are worth rostering.

Going a bit far IMO in PPR. Particularly with a check down guy like Bradford back there.

Richardson was at 13.5+ PPG Weeks 1 & 2 before health issues in PPR. Even Week 3, a Rams RB produced > 13 PPG in PPR (Pead). Richardson's health issues very well could be playing a big part in his fall off. JMO I don't see Pead as the answer unless they want to completely abandon the run game. He's less physical than even Richardson.

 

[Keith Lewis]

Another highly shouted "Shark move" from the staff blows up.

 

[TheFanatic]

The loss of Roger Saffold seems to be having a hug impact on the entire offensive line, I thought with the addition of Long they would be improved as an offense across the board but giving up 11 sacks in the last two games is terrible even with the loss of Saffold.

Perhaps Brian Schottenheimer just sucks as an offensive coordinator and his teams should just be avoided from a fantasy perspective.

The addition of Long is more important in the passing game than the running game. Tackles help protect QB's more than they open holes for RB's.

Schott is terrible. But do we ditch the OC so the QB has something like his sixth OC or HC in his career? Interception in SF territory and then three straight incompletions. Not a single run.

I was actually excited that they scored in the first quarter.How sad is that...

Tackles are plenty important for opening holes for RBs, you would hope that a guy like Long would help all aspects of the offense. The bottom line is that the Rams oline has underperformed in the run game all season and since Saffold went down it has gotten significantly worse in both the run and pass games.

In the first two games with Saffold opponents had 0 sacks and the Rams averaged 325 pass yards/game (5 TDs) a paltry 68 rush yards/game. In the last two games, without Saffold, they have given up 11 sacks and are averaging a lowly 183 pass yards/game (2 TDs) and a mind-blowingly horrific 23.5 rush yards/game.

Not sure it is fair to put it all on Saffold, SF & Dal are probably better defenses than Atl & Ari, but my goodness that is a big change.

I didn't say Tackles only were in the passing game, but that is their primary goal - protect the QB. They are also important in the run game, but the guards have much more impact there...

 

[Touchdown There]

There is a story as to why Pead was inactive. I wish we knew that story. Rotoworld:

Isaiah Pead is inactive for Week 4 against the 49ers.

Pead wasn't on this week's injury report, so unless he suffered an injury in pre-game warmups, he's a healthy scratch. It's an extremely surprising move after Daryl Richardson's foot limited him to just two snaps in Sunday's loss. The Rams must be satisfied with Richardson's health, and highly dissatisfied with his supposed backup. D-Rich will be backed up by Benny Cunningham, while Zac Stacy is active after being a healthy scratch in Weeks 2 and 3. Richardson is still little more than a middling FLEX option against San Francisco's solid, but banged up, run defense. Also inactive for the Rams are OT Rodger Saffold, DE William Hayes, OT Mike Person, OL Barrett Jones, OL Brandon Washington and TE Mike McNeill. Sep 26 - 7:07 PM

 

[TheFanatic]

Could Pead be suspended? Some sort of pre-emptive thing before the league suspends him?

 

[Touchdown There]

My guess is coaches doghouse.

 

[financewonk]

The Rams don’t appear to have any obvious solutions for the position in house and it would make a lot of sense to, as Fisher says, look at possible outside options to at least give them some semblance of a run game and some reliability picking up the blitz.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/89744/solutions-hard-to-find-for-rams-in-run-game

 

[Diamond]

“We’re going to have to, as we’ve already started, kind of adjust our offensive philosophy to, I think, what’s probably better suited for us right now,” Fisher said. “And that’s to hand it off, and everything else spins off of that.”

Wow. With those RBs and OL? And their 2.59 YPC? Good luck with that, Jeff.

Mark Ingram trade rumors in 3...2...1...

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

I'm amazed at the confidence Rotoworld's had for Pead's rushing ability.The value in any STL RB on that current roster is the catches out of the backfield (PPR). I find Pead's rushing ability to be about the equivalent of Lorenzo Booker's.

I find Pead to be zero threat to even Richardson running the football. If they aren't satisfied with Richardson, maybe it is time to look outside (even if it means someone like Beanie Wells)

 

[lod01]

“We’re going to have to, as we’ve already started, kind of adjust our offensive philosophy to, I think, what’s probably better suited for us right now,” Fisher said. “And that’s to hand it off, and everything else spins off of that.”

Wow. With those RBs and OL? And their 2.59 YPC? Good luck with that, Jeff.

Mark Ingram trade rumors in 3...2...1...

That plodder wouldn't stand a chance behind the Rams OL.

 

[munygon2]

D-Rich saying he will not start this weekend:

https://twitter.com/DRICH_26/status/385242508206145536

 

[solorca]

Well that's interesting.

 

[Otis]

Cut D-Rich this week. Want no part of the Rams running game at this point. I've seen enough.

 

[JFS171]

Cunningham time? Can't see Pead going from healthy scratch to starter in a week. Certainly has appeared, at least to this point, that Cunningham is well ahead of Stacy as well.

 

[SameSongNDance]

I've liked Cunningham all along but the fact remains that the OLine is putrid. There will be very little running room regardless.

 

[rickyg]

I've liked Cunningham all along but the fact remains that the OLine is putrid. There will be very little running room regardless.

I hear you, but we gotta try to decipher this and quickly...When richardson was healthier he put up flex worthy numbers as the starter. It's rare and awesome to get a legit starting rb at this juncture of the season with all of the rb injuries and byes. Whoever the rams new starter is could easily jump into flex spots in most leagues this week,. esp vs jax.

 

[rickyg]

might even be worth it to grab cunningham AND stacey and see what gives.

 

[Black]

Might not be worth it after week 5...upcoming schedule:

JAX, @HOU, @CAR, SEA, TEN

 

[pantherclub]

Another highly shouted "Shark move" from the staff blows up.

with all the info on the internet these days anyone can be an "expert" if they put the time and research into it.

 

[JFS171]

I've seen running games come together very quickly... you just never know. Scheme adjustments, lines playing better as a unit, etc.

Both Cunningham and Richardson are also good receivers, which certainly helps.

 

[rickyg]

Might not be worth it after week 5...upcoming schedule:

JAX, @HOU, @CAR, SEA, TEN

that IS brutal although if one of these guys wins the job it is still a starting rb and that has value as a bye week replacement with upside.

 

[SameSongNDance]

Might not be worth it after week 5...upcoming schedule:

JAX, @HOU, @CAR, SEA, TEN

that IS brutal although if one of these guys wins the job it is still a starting rb and that has value as a bye week replacement with upside.

It's definitely bad but not exactly brutal. HOU and TEN have been run on this year and find themselves in the bottom half of points allowed to RBs. I'd care more about the match-ups if it weren't a STL RB though, so it's kind of moot as to who they face. The four game stretch after JAC might as well be NYJ, ARI, KC and TB.

 

[JFS171]

Wouldn't be shocked if Stacy emerged here either (I've rostered Stacy and Cunningham in my dynasty, so money where my mouth is). I'm not saying either guy is "the guy" but it's clear that they need someone to create on their own. Stacy did that at Vanderbilt, and perhaps gets a chance to do it again here.

These are the bigger backs on the roster - the guys with the best chance of breaking a tackle and pushing the pile for a few yards. With the struggles of the o-line, seems a yards-after-contact guy is going to be the best fit.

 

[lod01]

Time to cut ties with Richardson and go with Cunningham.

 

[The Hank]

Well this sucks.

 

[rickyg]

Here is what I don't understand about the explanation behind pead being inactive last week. Fisher said it was bc he wanted to use tavon austin a bit more in the backfield...but austin was active anyway. Pead did not need to be inactive so that austin could get snaps in the backfield. Seems like there is more to the story. Zac Stacey was really the one who was active over pead.

 

[tdhartis]

Article on Rams RBs with focus on Cunningham

The above was written before the start of the season, but gives a good breakdown and analysis of Cunningham compared to the rest of the Rams backfield.

His measurables seem to be the closest to the stereotypical 3-down NFL back, and right now he's free in redrafts. I'm seriously considering stashing him.

 

[detroitwhat]

i have richardson unfortunately as my rb2 :( rest of my squad is fortunately exceptional leaving me in 3rd place.

i just picked up cunningham over pead. feel like there is more to the story being that tavon austin wasn't even used in the backfield last thursday. st. louis offensive line may be the worst in the league but in a ppr league with dumpoffs from bradford, a starting rb def has SOME value.

 

[Shutout]

This feels familiar: THe "guy" is out and everyone scrambles to pick up the young "next guy" and completely ignores the guy that has been there the longest because everyone says he is worthless. THen the worthless guy comes in and is the most valuable fantasy player because he has actually been in the system long enough to perform all aspects of the job, like pass protection,etc.

Take a quick look at Denver last year. THe answer is Isiah Pead.

 

[ShaHBucks]

Benny, benny, benny can't you see

 

[lod01]

Except that Fisher loves Cunningham and not Pead.

 

[JFS171]

This feels familiar: THe "guy" is out and everyone scrambles to pick up the young "next guy" and completely ignores the guy that has been there the longest because everyone says he is worthless. THen the worthless guy comes in and is the most valuable fantasy player because he has actually been in the system long enough to perform all aspects of the job, like pass protection,etc.

Take a quick look at Denver last year. THe answer is Isiah Pead.

I'm not saying you're wrong - it's wide open at this point, though I don't personally believe in Pead. What I will say, however, is that the parallel you draw is flawed. Moreno was inactive last year because he was McGahee's handcuff and had zero special teams value while Hillman and Ball both offered either COP or ST abilities. Pead was inactive for rookie Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham. Now you could argue Cunningham plays special teams, so that's why he gets a spot over Pead. IMO, that ignores Cunningham playing ahead of Pead in the Dallas game before they went full comeback mode and did nothing but throw.

To my knowledge (admittedly limited here) Stacy doesn't exactly offer ST value, so why give him the active spot over Pead?

 

[buck naked]

Regardless of who it is, if the St. Louis offensive line continues to be terrible, this conversation is moot.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

Regardless of who it is, if the St. Louis offensive line continues to be terrible, this conversation is moot.

more terribler than jax d on the road?

 

[ss3walkman]

Cunningham has to be the guy

 

[TwinTurbo]

Pead's agent was on an NFL radio show last week as a caller. I forget which show it was, but he called in about some other topic (concussions?) and in the course of the conversation revealed that he was a former player, now agent, and one of his clients was Pead. They pressed him on why Pead wasn't really in the mix for the Rams and he seemed to indicate that Pead wasn't trusted by Fisher. He said that he told Pead after he was drafted by the Rams that Fisher was one of the easiest coaches to play for, IF you earned his trust. And apparently Pead hasn't done that yet. So my guess is Pead is not the guy this week.

 

[SameSongNDance]

Rams coach Jeff Fisher was noncommittal when asked if Daryl Richardson will start this week.
"I haven't decided yet," Fisher said. "We'll probably play most, if not all of the running backs, if they're active." The Rams currently have the 32nd ranked rushing offense and are moving to a full-blown committee. Benny Cunningham, Isaiah Pead, and Zac Stacy are all candidates for bigger roles. If Richardson doesn't start, it sounds like he could still be in the mix for change-of-pace duties.

This is easily the worst and most convaluted fantasy situation from a RB perspective that I've seen in a long time. The chances of there being value here seem infinitesimal at best.

 

[detroitwhat]

Rams coach Jeff Fisher was noncommittal when asked if Daryl Richardson will start this week.
"I haven't decided yet," Fisher said. "We'll probably play most, if not all of the running backs, if they're active." The Rams currently have the 32nd ranked rushing offense and are moving to a full-blown committee. Benny Cunningham, Isaiah Pead, and Zac Stacy are all candidates for bigger roles. If Richardson doesn't start, it sounds like he could still be in the mix for change-of-pace duties.

This is easily the worst and most convaluted fantasy situation from a RB perspective that I've seen in a long time. The chances of there being value here seem infinitesimal at best.

Has Fisher historically gone with a RBBC?? At the Titans, he had Eddie George, Chris Brown, Chris Johnson, etc. I guess LenDale did share time with CJ. I remember a crazy stat saying Fisher coached teams had a 1000 yard rusher every season. Can someone correct me if I'm wrong? With that being said, I DON'T think this conversation is a moot point being they are playing the Jags at home this week. It comes off that Fisher wasn't happy with Richardson announcing to the world to not "gameplan" for him starting and doesn't believe much in Pead (why else deactivate the kid). IMO they are going with Cunningham or trading for a back the week after he fails.

 

[tdhartis]

Has Fisher historically gone with a RBBC?? At the Titans, he had Eddie George, Chris Brown, Chris Johnson, etc. I guess LenDale did share time with CJ. I remember a crazy stat saying Fisher coached teams had a 1000 yard rusher every season. Can someone correct me if I'm wrong? With that being said, I DON'T think this conversation is a moot point being they are playing the Jags at home this week. It comes off that Fisher wasn't happy with Richardson announcing to the world to not "gameplan" for him starting and doesn't believe much in Pead (why else deactivate the kid). IMO they are going with Cunningham or trading for a back the week after he fails.

Not true. The teams Fisher coached in '94, '95, '01, and '05 did not have 1,000yd rushers.

 

[FantasyTrader]

10 pages...fantasy football shouldn't be this hard folks.

All this for the dead last rushing offense in the league at 47.2 yds/game. Time to acknowledge the real answer may be none of the above.

 

[Hoss Style]

10 pages...fantasy football shouldn't be this hard folks.

All this for the dead last rushing offense in the league at 47.2 yds/game. Time to acknowledge the real answer may be none of the above.

10 pages for the league's worst rushing offense may say more about the state of FF RBs than it does anything else.

 

[rickyg]

Fwiw I stashed both Cunningham and Stacy. I have a hunch Stacy is going to see extended action vs the jags.

 

[Shutout]

This feels familiar: THe "guy" is out and everyone scrambles to pick up the young "next guy" and completely ignores the guy that has been there the longest because everyone says he is worthless. THen the worthless guy comes in and is the most valuable fantasy player because he has actually been in the system long enough to perform all aspects of the job, like pass protection,etc.

Take a quick look at Denver last year. THe answer is Isiah Pead.

I'm not saying you're wrong - it's wide open at this point, though I don't personally believe in Pead. What I will say, however, is that the parallel you draw is flawed. Moreno was inactive last year because he was McGahee's handcuff and had zero special teams value while Hillman and Ball both offered either COP or ST abilities. Pead was inactive for rookie Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham. Now you could argue Cunningham plays special teams, so that's why he gets a spot over Pead. IMO, that ignores Cunningham playing ahead of Pead in the Dallas game before they went full comeback mode and did nothing but throw.

To my knowledge (admittedly limited here) Stacy doesn't exactly offer ST value, so why give him the active spot over Pead?

Actually, Moreno was inactive last year because of his injury and they didn't rush him back. This was LARGELY overlooked last year as everyone assumed that he was just inactive but he even said late last year that he was still recovering for a long time and probably wouldn't have played when he did down the stretch had McGahee been healthy (meaning, may have been a "healthy scratch").

People have glossed over Moreno completely and missed the boat on him and now they are seeing the fantasy implications of that. I'm not saying I am right about Pead either; just seems similar to me and Fisher is one of those coaches that kind of does things in that old school way, like Fox. I'm just drawing the comparison and it is more similar than what those who think of Moreno as just being a guy that was there last year with nothing else going on.