LaMont Jordan...can he surprise this year? (1 Viewer)

[perry147]

No one thinks it strange he's not played the last two games? Either the back is not right, or he doesn't fit somehow, but either way I think the inactivity is telling and he won't be there when the season begins.

I'm very high on Jordan if healthy, but I'm with Couch on this one now. Unless they held him to protect him because they're planning to give him a bigger role than we're thinking, you'd have to think something might not be right with his health and that he could be at risk of being cut.

A few possibilities:1) Jordan has a minor, nagging injury

2) Pats know what Jordan is capable of now, and they're holding him out to avoid injury (b/c they would have to pay his full year salary if he got hurt)

3) BB wants to make sure his starting RB doesn't get injured

Disclosure: I'm a Maroney/Morris owner, thus a bit jaded right now

This is the combo I would be most comfortable with.

 

[Boston]

In my opinion:I think Billy boy is going to throw the league another curve ball this year and put some serious emphasis on running a four headed monster rushing attack, with a reduced emphasis on passing in comparison to last year. He's a master of doing what's least expected, and right now everyone is expecting the Pats to do exactly what they did at the start of last season with the wide open offense (though they were also very effective at running while Morris was available).After teams starting to establish the "blueprint" doing everything they can to meet at the QB and keep Brady uncomfortable in the pocket, it'd be a great move to establish a dominant run game to keep the defense on its heals. Chewing up more clock on offense with the run will also keep his own defense off the field longer which I think will be key to their success as they aren't as talented as last year and some of those defensive guys are pretty long in the teeth.In Maroney, Morris, Jordan and Faulk he's got a lot of horses to work with and rotating them consistently will keep them all fresh and ideally more healthy through the season.The one problem with my hypothesis is that the offensive line is a little sketchy right now with the injuries and substandard play (the real reason Brady won't see any game time in preseason). It's tougher to be an effective run blocking unit than pass blocking unit in terms of execution, but it's more fun to run block than pass block, so it remains to be seen how the line resolves itself.In the end the Pats get the max out of their players, and use them in the situations they're most suited to have success in. To that end all four of the backs (maybe five if you include Evans) will see significant touches.I think both Morris and Jordan are great values at their current ADPs. They should return on that investment even if nothing changes in the NE backfield - they're solid rb3 right now. If Maroney or the other of the two go down each is a viable RB2. If Maroney and one of the two go down, the third remaining is a borderline RB1. Since all three of these guys have some injury history, it's not unimaginable.Long story short I think Jordan is a steal at the ADP he currently has.

I have to agree here. I may be way off base but it has appeared to me that the Pats have gone with a new strategy each year. One year they featured TEs Graham and Fauria to great extenctThen it was so many short passes just to move the chains that people thought Brady could not throw long.Then when people said the Pats were a passing team, the Pats featured Dillon and Rookie Maroney to eat up the clock.Last year was the year of the deep passes downfield.Does anyone really think that Moss and Brady are going to fulfill their ADP this year when recent history has shown otherwise in the Pats system? Any player on the Pats this year has the potential to be a fantasy steal.The question is who? It could very well be Jordan. I am more willing to gamble on Jordan late than Brady/Moss early.

Bottom line is, other than last year, when did Brady have any top flight receivers to throw to? Branch was ok. Givens was ok. Borown was aging rapidly and was not a huge factor. Patten was there for a while in a supporting role. NONE OF THEM compared to Randy Moss, and none of them fit with Moss as Welker has with Moss.Does anyone even remember the Pats receiving corps from a couple of seasons ago? Reche Caldwell? Doug Gabriel? Not even in the same dimension as Moss and Welker.The Pats many not have the lofty passing numbers they did last season . . . but that DOES NOT mean they will have better rushing totals because they lost out on their passing production.As I have pointed out that for the most part the Pats rushing game has been average or below average most of the time. One year they did very well with Dillon and a couple years they did put up a lot of rushing TD.So to say that "recent history has shown otherwise in the Pats system" is a bit misleading that the key receiving guys in the system weren't there except for last year.

David-I don't know why you waste your time sometimes. It's pretty obvious some feel things are going to be a certain way regardless of whether there's evidence to back it up or not. The bottomline is while BB mixes things up if you follow the talent you'll have a pretty good idea what direction he will head. He doesn't mix things up for no reason. Brady-Moss-Welker are the foundation for their offensive firepower. As long as they're healthy this team will use the pass very liberally (especially with an O line that traditionally has been better at pass blocking than run blocking) as I don't see him taking the ball out of Brady's hands to give it to RBs that are solid but not great.

 

[David Yudkin]

In my opinion:I think Billy boy is going to throw the league another curve ball this year and put some serious emphasis on running a four headed monster rushing attack, with a reduced emphasis on passing in comparison to last year. He's a master of doing what's least expected, and right now everyone is expecting the Pats to do exactly what they did at the start of last season with the wide open offense (though they were also very effective at running while Morris was available).After teams starting to establish the "blueprint" doing everything they can to meet at the QB and keep Brady uncomfortable in the pocket, it'd be a great move to establish a dominant run game to keep the defense on its heals. Chewing up more clock on offense with the run will also keep his own defense off the field longer which I think will be key to their success as they aren't as talented as last year and some of those defensive guys are pretty long in the teeth.In Maroney, Morris, Jordan and Faulk he's got a lot of horses to work with and rotating them consistently will keep them all fresh and ideally more healthy through the season.The one problem with my hypothesis is that the offensive line is a little sketchy right now with the injuries and substandard play (the real reason Brady won't see any game time in preseason). It's tougher to be an effective run blocking unit than pass blocking unit in terms of execution, but it's more fun to run block than pass block, so it remains to be seen how the line resolves itself.In the end the Pats get the max out of their players, and use them in the situations they're most suited to have success in. To that end all four of the backs (maybe five if you include Evans) will see significant touches.I think both Morris and Jordan are great values at their current ADPs. They should return on that investment even if nothing changes in the NE backfield - they're solid rb3 right now. If Maroney or the other of the two go down each is a viable RB2. If Maroney and one of the two go down, the third remaining is a borderline RB1. Since all three of these guys have some injury history, it's not unimaginable.Long story short I think Jordan is a steal at the ADP he currently has.

I have to agree here. I may be way off base but it has appeared to me that the Pats have gone with a new strategy each year. One year they featured TEs Graham and Fauria to great extenctThen it was so many short passes just to move the chains that people thought Brady could not throw long.Then when people said the Pats were a passing team, the Pats featured Dillon and Rookie Maroney to eat up the clock.Last year was the year of the deep passes downfield.Does anyone really think that Moss and Brady are going to fulfill their ADP this year when recent history has shown otherwise in the Pats system? Any player on the Pats this year has the potential to be a fantasy steal.The question is who? It could very well be Jordan. I am more willing to gamble on Jordan late than Brady/Moss early.

Bottom line is, other than last year, when did Brady have any top flight receivers to throw to? Branch was ok. Givens was ok. Borown was aging rapidly and was not a huge factor. Patten was there for a while in a supporting role. NONE OF THEM compared to Randy Moss, and none of them fit with Moss as Welker has with Moss.Does anyone even remember the Pats receiving corps from a couple of seasons ago? Reche Caldwell? Doug Gabriel? Not even in the same dimension as Moss and Welker.The Pats many not have the lofty passing numbers they did last season . . . but that DOES NOT mean they will have better rushing totals because they lost out on their passing production.As I have pointed out that for the most part the Pats rushing game has been average or below average most of the time. One year they did very well with Dillon and a couple years they did put up a lot of rushing TD.So to say that "recent history has shown otherwise in the Pats system" is a bit misleading that the key receiving guys in the system weren't there except for last year.

David-I don't know why you waste your time sometimes. It's pretty obvious some feel things are going to be a certain way regardless of whether there's evidence to back it up or not. The bottomline is while BB mixes things up if you follow the talent you'll have a pretty good idea what direction he will head. He doesn't mix things up for no reason. Brady-Moss-Welker are the foundation for their offensive firepower. As long as they're healthy this team will use the pass very liberally (especially with an O line that traditionally has been better at pass blocking than run blocking) as I don't see him taking the ball out of Brady's hands to give it to RBs that are solid but not great.

I hear what you are saying, but I do consider the fact that at this time of year the site gets a lot more traffic from people that haven't been camped out in the Shark Pool the past 6 months. So that explains why I post some of the same things multiple times.I do agree though that some folks will conclude whatever they want without looking at the supporting evidence, so we can't help those folks out I guess . . .

 

[Michael Fox Fan]

Checked in again this morning and am still hearing that Jordan is fully expected to make the team. Guess we'll have to see come final cut down day.

Thanks. I hope your sources are good. I was just expressing an opinion, not backed by any inside info. As of now my opinion hasn't changed though.

David's sources were great last year. Wish I had listened to him early in the year, I could have traded Maroney for a sweet deal back then.As a Maroney owner, I'm beginning to hate BB the same way most people hate Shanahan.

The solution is to not be a Maroney owner...

To be clear, I am not anti-Maroney and am in fact a Maroney owner (although that fact really has no bearing at all on what I post).In 12, 14, or 16 team leagues Maroney is a passable RB2 and a good flex player, and if he falls far enough on draft day I don't think he is a terrible option. People just need to temper their enthusiasm some from last year when he was a late first round pick and people were expecting 1500-1800 total yards and 15+ TD.

There are some things working in Maroney's favor, mostly his health and playing a full training camp (neither of which he had going for him last year).

Even though Morris and Jordan are the ones getting most of the short yardage reps in practice, I think Maroney still will get a fair amount of goal line looks. He's been going in the 3rd round in most drafts which given the options available both at RB and other positions is probably too rich for my blood, but in the 4th or later I would consider him.

I have seen a couple of folks go LT or ADP, WR/WR, and then Maroney in the early 4th, which to me seems like a decent maneuver.

I think the biggest issue for Maroney owners is that the Pats game plan some games to all but eliminate the running game, and that could be maddening for people expecting or needing him to come through in their fantasy roster.

That's exactly the concern I have as a Maroney owner. He'll still be my RB3, but I recognize that some weeks he'll put up terrible stats....

 

[-baller]

That's exactly the concern I have as a Maroney owner. He'll still be my RB3, but I recognize that some weeks he'll put up terrible stats....

haha...looking at the schedule, there aren't any games like this that jump out at me, so I wouldn't worry too much about it, unless of course they want to work in a no huddle shotgun game somewhere just for practice.it's the usual suspects + nfc and afc west, and I wouldn't say the chargers are a new face.I agree w/yudkin --- maroney's a perfectly good player, but probably gets drafted too early.I guess the other problem I have w/him is that when they actually do get to the red zone, they're as likely to pass for the td as they are to run it in.

 

[BigGreenMachine]

That's exactly the concern I have as a Maroney owner. He'll still be my RB3, but I recognize that some weeks he'll put up terrible stats....

haha...looking at the schedule, there aren't any games like this that jump out at me, so I wouldn't worry too much about it, unless of course they want to work in a no huddle shotgun game somewhere just for practice.it's the usual suspects + nfc and afc west, and I wouldn't say the chargers are a new face.I agree w/yudkin --- maroney's a perfectly good player, but probably gets drafted too early.I guess the other problem I have w/him is that when they actually do get to the red zone, they're as likely to pass for the td as they are to run it in.

I am glad I started this thread...there has been a lot of valuable insight here. That being said, I already hate BB the way most people hate Shanahan. The reason? This....we know squat about this team's intentions, strategies, etc. LaMont, Morris, Maroney....in the end it won't matter because NE will only go as far as the able arm of Tom Brady and the amazing hands of Randy Moss.Will LaMont make the team....more than likely. Will he do anything meaningful...hopefully but doubtful.Maroney is solid and if they would give him more carries we would get a better view but for all of the above reasons I wouldnt hold my breath for that to happen.Solid info from our friend Yudkin

 

[David Yudkin]

Eckel was cut by the Pats today, so the probability of Jordan making the team (which was high to begin with) went up some more.

 

[-baller]

Eckel was cut by the Pats today, so the probability of Jordan making the team (which was high to begin with) went up some more.

huzzah to you, sir -- you were right on the money on that one.do you have any insight on mike flynn or john welbourn?offensive line injuries make me nervous.

 

[David Yudkin]

Eckel was cut by the Pats today, so the probability of Jordan making the team (which was high to begin with) went up some more.

huzzah to you, sir -- you were right on the money on that one.do you have any insight on mike flynn or john welbourn?offensive line injuries make me nervous.

I think Flynn was brought in for an audition more for an in season injury replacement than anything else. So I don't see him sticking. Welbourn's chances went up with Neal going on PUP and O'Callaghan going on IR.

 

[David Yudkin]

Jordan apparently had an injury that kept him out of the past two games, but he is back to practicing and has no restrictions . . .

LINK

 

[Sinrman]

I don't think the Pats snagging Jordan was just for show. They plan on using him, and probably were pleasantly surprised when he was let go. I don't expect him to start, but the OP is right in that Maroney has yet to show us the skills that made him a 1st round pick a few years back. I can definitely see Jordan getting maybe 25% of the carries at some point, with Faulk still getting a lot of 3rd down plays.

 

[jon_mx]

I don't think the Pats snagging Jordan was just for show. They plan on using him, and probably were pleasantly surprised when he was let go. I don't expect him to start, but the OP is right in that Maroney has yet to show us the skills that made him a 1st round pick a few years back. I can definitely see Jordan getting maybe 25% of the carries at some point, with Faulk still getting a lot of 3rd down plays.

When the Pats snatched up Maroney, that meant the Colts had to settle for Addai a couple picks later.