Mort Breaks Down Rhodes/Addai (1 Viewer)

[packersfan]

From his chat today. Of interest in my opinion is his comment about how the Colts believe Rhodes can run the ball as effectively as James. That's very likely coach-speak but it does seem to indicate a tremendous amount of confidence and belief in Rhodes.

Robb (Timonium, MD): Hey Mort, do you think that Addai is the real deal and will he unseat Rhodes as the starter in Indy this season?

SportsNation Chris Mortensen: (11:30 AM ET ) I think it will pretty much remain a two-back system with Rhodes and Addai. Rhodes is really a good runner - I think the Colts believe he will be as effective running the ball as James - while Addai is a more physical guy who can blocker, as well as catch the ball better.

 

[slinky]

I just picked up Rhodes in the late rounds last night. I'm hoping he can stick it out and be the main guy in Indy.

 

[ooofffaaa]

Rhodes = 2006 SOD

 

[TheFanatic]

The real problem with this logic is that Mort is an idiot. When Mort breaks some news I roll my eyes and wait for the retraction. I loved him talking about Romo being seriosuly considered the starter in Dallas and after Bledsoe ran a clinic in that pre-season game he backpedalled so fast he nearly tripped all over himself....

 

[djcolts]

Rhodes will play a lot if he stays healthy and doesn't fumble. Two big ifs.

 

[jafo]

I'm just not sold on Rhodes yet. He did have that great season filling in for Edge 4 years ago, but since then it seems he's had a hard time staying healthy (with minimal playing time).

The big question in my mind will be his ability to stay healthy with the increased amount of playing time. In any case, I think Indy will be taking to the air more this year. I only drafted Indy RBs this year if they fell late enough in the draft.

 

[ShadowMaster]

Rhodes = 2006 SOD

I did not see even close to enough from the rookie Addai to think he will overtake a previously productive vet like Rhodes.

 

[joffer]

Rhodes' 2001 YPC was higher than Edge's YPC any year.

 

[pantagrapher]

The real problem with this logic is that Mort is an idiot. When Mort breaks some news I roll my eyes and wait for the retraction. I loved him talking about Romo being seriosuly considered the starter in Dallas and after Bledsoe ran a clinic in that pre-season game he backpedalled so fast he nearly tripped all over himself....

A few years ago, Mort used to get real news; now it seems like he just gets played by his sources. Once those guys figured out how to use him, his information lost a lot of value.

 

[jafo]

Rhodes = 2006 SOD

I did not see even close to enough from the rookie Addai to think he will overtake a previously productive vet like Rhodes.

I think in order for Rhodes to stay healthy we'll see a full blown RBBC in Indy this year. At this point I would only feel comfortable starting Rhodes as a 3rd RB. This talk of SOD is humerous. He'll be lucky if his production matches the production of others drafted around him.

 

[TheFanatic]

The real problem with this logic is that Mort is an idiot. When Mort breaks some news I roll my eyes and wait for the retraction. I loved him talking about Romo being seriosuly considered the starter in Dallas and after Bledsoe ran a clinic in that pre-season game he backpedalled so fast he nearly tripped all over himself....

A few years ago, Mort used to get real news; now it seems like he just gets played by his sources. Once those guys figured out how to use him, his information lost a lot of value.

He's like the sounding board for coach speak. If a coach wants to motivate a player by saying he may not start or may not make the team, call Mort. That chump will say anything on live TV....

 

[Deuce'sWild]

I'm starting Rhodes over K. Jones this week. Not sure how long he can hold off the rookie, but I'm pretty sure week 1 he'll get the Lion share of carries.

Plus, KJ isn't exactly an every week starter....especially vs Seattle.

 

[Significant Shrinkage]

I'm just not sold on Rhodes yet. He did have that great season filling in for Edge 4 years ago

In 10 starts in 2001, he accumulated 1104 yards rushing and 9 TD's, averaging 4.7 yards/carry

 

[Deuce'sWild]

I'm just not sold on Rhodes yet. He did have that great season filling in for Edge 4 years ago

In 10 starts in 2001, he accumulated 1104 yards rushing and 9 TD's, averaging 4.7 yards/carry

which would be 1766 rushing yards and 14 tds in 16 games.

 

[nightshift]

Both of these guys are a this year approach. Niether fits the bill of a long term solution to Edge leaving.

 

[jafo]

I'm just not sold on Rhodes yet. He did have that great season filling in for Edge 4 years ago

In 10 starts in 2001, he accumulated 1104 yards rushing and 9 TD's, averaging 4.7 yards/carry

Like I said, he had a great season...in 2001. Now it is 5 years later. I watched many of the Indy games last year and this guy had no burst. His speed today isn't what it was in 2001.

I'm just not sold on Rhodes yet. He did have that great season filling in for Edge 4 years ago

In 10 starts in 2001, he accumulated 1104 yards rushing and 9 TD's, averaging 4.7 yards/carry

which would be 1766 rushing yards and 14 tds in 16 games.

Ah...to be 23 again. Good luck getting that production out of the 2006 Rhodes.

 

[Todem]

Both of these guys are a this year approach. Niether fits the bill of a long term solution to Edge leaving.

I am a Rhodes owner and beleive he is a good RB ( RB3 in deep leagues that start 3) but not a workhorse like Edge. He should fill in nicely this season and it is reasonable to believe he will score 7-8 TD's and have 1200 combined yards. If the Colts go all the way this year who's to say they do not resign Rhodes for another run with a more experienced Addai in the stable as well. It will be interesting to see how this sesaon play's out.

 

[Tau837]

Rhodes' 2001 YPC was higher than Edge's YPC any year.

In 10 starts in 2001, he accumulated 1104 yards rushing and 9 TD's, averaging 4.7 yards/carry

Check Rhodes' 2001 game log:

+----------+-------------+--------+----+| WK  OPP  |  RSH   YD   |  RECYD | TD |+----------+-------------+--------+----+|  3  nwe  |	4	21  |	 8  |  0 ||  6  nwe  |	2	35  |	 0  |  0 ||  7  kan  |	4	87  |	 0  |  1 ||  8  buf  |   34   100  |	45  |  1 ||  9  mia  |   14	42  |	 0  |  0 || 10  nor  |   18	67  |	 8  |  1 || 11  sfo  |   27   104  |	43  |  2 || 12  bal  |   16	42  |	25  |  0 || 13  mia  |   17	79  |	19  |  0 || 14  atl  |   29   177  |	11  |  2 || 15  nyj  |   17   126  |	26  |  1 || 16  stl  |   20	83  |	 9  |  1 || 17  den  |   31   141  |	30  |  0 |+----------+-------------+--------+----+|  TOTAL   |  233  1104  |   224  |  9 |+----------+-------------+--------+----+

In the first 6 games of 2001, Rhodes was a part time player, and averaged 14.3 ypc. As a full time player starting the last 10 games, he averaged 4.31 ypc on 223 carries. Edge averaged better than that as a full time player in 3 of his seasons, including 2001.So SS's statement is incorrect, should read 4.31 ypc in 10 starts, which is fine, but nothing particularly impressive. And IMO joffer's statement is somewhat misleading, since Rhodes' ypc was inflated in 2001 while he was a part-timer but similar to James when he played full time.

 

[Tau837]

In 10 starts in 2001, he accumulated 1104 yards rushing and 9 TD's, averaging 4.7 yards/carry

Like I said, he had a great season...in 2001. Now it is 5 years later. I watched many of the Indy games last year and this guy had no burst. His speed today isn't what it was in 2001.

He's 5 years older and one ACL injury removed from those numbers.And those scaled up numbers aren't valid anyway. In his 10 starts, he had 223/961 rushing, with 8 TDs. Scale those numbers up and you get 357/1538 rushing, with 13 TDs in 16 games. (Although if you scale up his receiving yardage, that would add 346 receiving yards.) Obviously, 1884/13 is a great season, I'm just not confident that:1. It is valid to scale up numbers like that from 10 to 16 games. Big difference between 223 carries over 10 games and 357 over 16.2. He is physically able to repeat his performance in 2001.3. The Colts will give him enough carries to make him particularly valuable. They have averaged roughly 400 RB carries over the past 2 seasons. I can't see him getting more than 230 of those, and that is probably high. So his ceiling is probably in the neighborhood of 1000 rushing yards. How much value he provides depends on where his owners drafted him.For these reasons, I chose to take Thomas Jones over Rhodes as my RB3 in the one league in which he lasted long enough for me to consider him.

 

[TheFanatic]

In 10 starts in 2001, he accumulated 1104 yards rushing and 9 TD's, averaging 4.7 yards/carry

Like I said, he had a great season...in 2001. Now it is 5 years later. I watched many of the Indy games last year and this guy had no burst. His speed today isn't what it was in 2001.

He's 5 years older and one ACL injury removed from those numbers.And those scaled up numbers aren't valid anyway. In his 10 starts, he had 223/961 rushing, with 8 TDs. Scale those numbers up and you get 357/1538 rushing, with 13 TDs in 16 games. (Although if you scale up his receiving yardage, that would add 346 receiving yards.) Obviously, 1884/13 is a great season, I'm just not confident that:1. It is valid to scale up numbers like that from 10 to 16 games. Big difference between 223 carries over 10 games and 357 over 16.2. He is physically able to repeat his performance in 2001.3. The Colts will give him enough carries to make him particularly valuable. They have averaged roughly 400 RB carries over the past 2 seasons. I can't see him getting more than 230 of those, and that is probably high. So his ceiling is probably in the neighborhood of 1000 rushing yards. How much value he provides depends on where his owners drafted him.For these reasons, I chose to take Thomas Jones over Rhodes as my RB3 in the one league in which he lasted long enough for me to consider him.

And the biggest reason to doubt Rhodes is that the coaching staff has so little faith in him that they used a 1st rounder to grab a RB. That's not a move for depth. That's a huge investment in a RB.

 

[jafo]

Great info in this thread. Here's a bump.

 

[Armando]

Mort was at my fantasy draft last night and told me his son would be the #1 QB in fantasy within 10 years.

 

[Rogi]

ESPN has been incorrectly speculating so frequently that I take everything they report with a huge grain of salt. Clayton reporting S. Smith playing one day, then the next saying the opposite. When T.O. was missing preseason games and practice, they were trying to create major Parells/Owens drama. If you saw there Fantasy Draft special, you'd would have thrown up. I'm not an expert, but if ESPN is touting their personnel as expert analyst, then maybe I am.

Bottomline, don't pay attention to their Addai/Rhodes insight. I'm an Addai owner and I'm giving him until week 3 or 4 to see how this plays out. If the Colts are winning on Rhodes' shoulders, then Addai probably won't be a primary runner.

 

[Thumper]

In 10 starts in 2001, he accumulated 1104 yards rushing and 9 TD's, averaging 4.7 yards/carry

Like I said, he had a great season...in 2001. Now it is 5 years later. I watched many of the Indy games last year and this guy had no burst. His speed today isn't what it was in 2001.

He's 5 years older and one ACL injury removed from those numbers.And those scaled up numbers aren't valid anyway. In his 10 starts, he had 223/961 rushing, with 8 TDs. Scale those numbers up and you get 357/1538 rushing, with 13 TDs in 16 games. (Although if you scale up his receiving yardage, that would add 346 receiving yards.) Obviously, 1884/13 is a great season, I'm just not confident that:1. It is valid to scale up numbers like that from 10 to 16 games. Big difference between 223 carries over 10 games and 357 over 16.2. He is physically able to repeat his performance in 2001.3. The Colts will give him enough carries to make him particularly valuable. They have averaged roughly 400 RB carries over the past 2 seasons. I can't see him getting more than 230 of those, and that is probably high. So his ceiling is probably in the neighborhood of 1000 rushing yards. How much value he provides depends on where his owners drafted him.For these reasons, I chose to take Thomas Jones over Rhodes as my RB3 in the one league in which he lasted long enough for me to consider him.

And the biggest reason to doubt Rhodes is that the coaching staff has so little faith in him that they used a 1st rounder to grab a RB. That's not a move for depth. That's a huge investment in a RB.

I think Rhodes could be the steal of the draft in the sense that he can be had in the 8th round and has the potential to be a marginal 2nd back.I'm have no delusions that he will come close to E.James numbers.I just don't like Addai. In my mind he was a third round pick at best.

 

[Joe Bryant]

The real problem with this logic is that Mort is an idiot. When Mort breaks some news I roll my eyes and wait for the retraction. I loved him talking about Romo being seriosuly considered the starter in Dallas and after Bledsoe ran a clinic in that pre-season game he backpedalled so fast he nearly tripped all over himself....

Hi Tf,Sorry but I strongly disagree. He doesn't get everything right but there are few people on the planet better connected for NFL news that Chris Mortensen. I've had a few conversations with the guy and he knows exactly how it works and understands the role he plays to a T. If you dont think he knows when a GM is telling him something for effect, then I'd just have to disagree there.He may not be as smooth as the normal ESPN anchors on TV but he's as plugged in as anyone in the world. And a very cool and courteous guy on top of that. The last time I talked to him we were both waiting on the same flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta. He was on standby and said he hoped he made the flight. I told him, "what do you mean stand by? You're Chris Mortensen from ESPN, you don't have to do stand by". He laughed and said that he might could make somethign happen with Delta just because of all the miles he flew if he wanted to throw some weight around but said he wouldn't do that. Said these other people have families and want to get home just as much as he did.He didn't pull any strings and didn't make the flight.But that's just a bonus. Bottom line is he knows what he's talking about when it comes to the NFL.J

 

[Thumper]

The real problem with this logic is that Mort is an idiot. When Mort breaks some news I roll my eyes and wait for the retraction. I loved him talking about Romo being seriosuly considered the starter in Dallas and after Bledsoe ran a clinic in that pre-season game he backpedalled so fast he nearly tripped all over himself....

Hi Tf,Sorry but I strongly disagree. He doesn't get everything right but there are few people on the planet better connected for NFL news that Chris Mortensen. I've had a few conversations with the guy and he knows exactly how it works and understands the role he plays to a T. If you dont think he knows when a GM is telling him something for effect, then I'd just have to disagree there.He may not be as smooth as the normal ESPN anchors on TV but he's as plugged in as anyone in the world. And a very cool and courteous guy on top of that. The last time I talked to him we were both waiting on the same flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta. He was on standby and said he hoped he made the flight. I told him, "what do you mean stand by? You're Chris Mortensen from ESPN, you don't have to do stand by". He laughed and said that he might could make somethign happen with Delta just because of all the miles he flew if he wanted to throw some weight around but said he wouldn't do that. Said these other people have families and want to get home just as much as he did.He didn't pull any strings and didn't make the flight.But that's just a bonus. Bottom line is he knows what he's talking about when it comes to the NFL.J

I think Mortenson is very good. And in this case I think he is 100% on the money.

 

[Spike]

I think the 2 biggest factors in Addai's advantage are:

1. He was a first round pick. Not meaningless these days.

2. He is (from all I've heard) an excellent blocking RB. In the Colts offense, especially since James was so good in this aspect, that really should not be ignored.

 

[Tat]

Honestly, I think Rhodes could be a steal as well.

Addai went in the end of the 4th round in my local draft.

I picked up Rhodes in the 10th round.

A possible starting RB on a high powered offense in thr e 10th round is easily a steal.

 

[Loomba]

I rode Rhodes back in 2001 to a championship and think he is capable. But he is not the same runner as he was back then. I, for one it appears, liked what I saw out of Addai in the last two preseason games. He ran hard and looked as good as Rhodes in those games. Manning likes Addai quite a bit and that may help him out. I expect he will earn the starting job at some point this season.

 

[joffer]

Rhodes' 2001 YPC was higher than Edge's YPC any year.

In 10 starts in 2001, he accumulated 1104 yards rushing and 9 TD's, averaging 4.7 yards/carry

Check Rhodes' 2001 game log:

+----------+-------------+--------+----+| WK  OPP  |  RSH   YD   |  RECYD | TD |+----------+-------------+--------+----+|  3  nwe  |	4	21  |	 8  |  0 ||  6  nwe  |	2	35  |	 0  |  0 ||  7  kan  |	4	87  |	 0  |  1 ||  8  buf  |   34   100  |	45  |  1 ||  9  mia  |   14	42  |	 0  |  0 || 10  nor  |   18	67  |	 8  |  1 || 11  sfo  |   27   104  |	43  |  2 || 12  bal  |   16	42  |	25  |  0 || 13  mia  |   17	79  |	19  |  0 || 14  atl  |   29   177  |	11  |  2 || 15  nyj  |   17   126  |	26  |  1 || 16  stl  |   20	83  |	 9  |  1 || 17  den  |   31   141  |	30  |  0 |+----------+-------------+--------+----+|  TOTAL   |  233  1104  |   224  |  9 |+----------+-------------+--------+----+

In the first 6 games of 2001, Rhodes was a part time player, and averaged 14.3 ypc. As a full time player starting the last 10 games, he averaged 4.31 ypc on 223 carries. Edge averaged better than that as a full time player in 3 of his seasons, including 2001.So SS's statement is incorrect, should read 4.31 ypc in 10 starts, which is fine, but nothing particularly impressive. And IMO joffer's statement is somewhat misleading, since Rhodes' ypc was inflated in 2001 while he was a part-timer but similar to James when he played full time.

so the 80-something yard run that Rhodes had after he replaced Edge in game 6 (post ACL tear)....we're not going to count that one huh?

 

[bonesman]

SportsNation Chris Mortensen: (11:30 AM ET ) I think it will pretty much remain a two-back system with Rhodes and Addai. Rhodes is really a good runner - I think the Colts believe he will be as effective running the ball as James - while Addai is a more physical guy who can blocker, as well as catch the ball better.

so looks like Addai will be in on 3rd down at least.... if he "blockers" and catches better.someone said earlier how Rhodes has had injury trouble when he HASN'T been asked to carry the load.... i just don't think he can handle 20 carries a game for very long.

seems odd... but i think Rhodes success depends on Addai... not the other way around as some would think... if Addai is decent, but pretty mediocre... i think this bodes well for Rhodes... but if Addai is either really good, or really terrible, i think Rhodes' value takes a major hit

i can't wait to see how this plays out though... someone said Manning really likes Joe Addai.... any link on that? I bet Peyton has alot of pull when it comes to personell... especially when it comes to someone who'll probably need to make key blocks for him

 

[Tau837]

Rhodes' 2001 YPC was higher than Edge's YPC any year.

In 10 starts in 2001, he accumulated 1104 yards rushing and 9 TD's, averaging 4.7 yards/carry

Check Rhodes' 2001 game log:

+----------+-------------+--------+----+| WK  OPP  |  RSH   YD   |  RECYD | TD |+----------+-------------+--------+----+|  3  nwe  |	4	21  |	 8  |  0 ||  6  nwe  |	2	35  |	 0  |  0 ||  7  kan  |	4	87  |	 0  |  1 ||  8  buf  |   34   100  |	45  |  1 ||  9  mia  |   14	42  |	 0  |  0 || 10  nor  |   18	67  |	 8  |  1 || 11  sfo  |   27   104  |	43  |  2 || 12  bal  |   16	42  |	25  |  0 || 13  mia  |   17	79  |	19  |  0 || 14  atl  |   29   177  |	11  |  2 || 15  nyj  |   17   126  |	26  |  1 || 16  stl  |   20	83  |	 9  |  1 || 17  den  |   31   141  |	30  |  0 |+----------+-------------+--------+----+|  TOTAL   |  233  1104  |   224  |  9 |+----------+-------------+--------+----+

In the first 6 games of 2001, Rhodes was a part time player, and averaged 14.3 ypc. As a full time player starting the last 10 games, he averaged 4.31 ypc on 223 carries. Edge averaged better than that as a full time player in 3 of his seasons, including 2001.So SS's statement is incorrect, should read 4.31 ypc in 10 starts, which is fine, but nothing particularly impressive. And IMO joffer's statement is somewhat misleading, since Rhodes' ypc was inflated in 2001 while he was a part-timer but similar to James when he played full time.

so the 80-something yard run that Rhodes had after he replaced Edge in game 6 (post ACL tear)....we're not going to count that one huh?

You count whatever you want. I stand by my statement that your comparison was not apples to apples. And, more importantly, shouldn't this be more about predicting Rhodes' performance than comparing him with James? Would you not agree that his past performance as a full time RB in 2001 is his best useful sample set of performance for that purpose? To put it another way, I think it is much more likely he'll average 4.3 ypc than 4.7 ypc. How about you?

 

[Bri]

From his chat today. Of interest in my opinion is his comment about how the Colts believe Rhodes can run the ball as effectively as James. That's very likely coach-speak but it does seem to indicate a tremendous amount of confidence and belief in Rhodes.Robb (Timonium, MD): Hey Mort, do you think that Addai is the real deal and will he unseat Rhodes as the starter in Indy this season?SportsNation Chris Mortensen: (11:30 AM ET ) I think it will pretty much remain a two-back system with Rhodes and Addai. Rhodes is really a good runner - I think the Colts believe he will be as effective running the ball as James - while Addai is a more physical guy who can blocker, as well as catch the ball better.

expected more of a breakdown

 

[Deuce'sWild]

Of Rhodes and T. Bell, who do you think will get more carries in the early season games?

 

[massraider]

This is Mort's way of saying he has no flippin' clue what's gonna happen in Indy. Nothing newsworthy there, you could have read that report from some rinky-dink draft publication that had read Addai scouting reports.

 

[joffer]

Rhodes' 2001 YPC was higher than Edge's YPC any year.

In 10 starts in 2001, he accumulated 1104 yards rushing and 9 TD's, averaging 4.7 yards/carry

Check Rhodes' 2001 game log:

+----------+-------------+--------+----+| WK  OPP  |  RSH   YD   |  RECYD | TD |+----------+-------------+--------+----+|  3  nwe  |	4	21  |	 8  |  0 ||  6  nwe  |	2	35  |	 0  |  0 ||  7  kan  |	4	87  |	 0  |  1 ||  8  buf  |   34   100  |	45  |  1 ||  9  mia  |   14	42  |	 0  |  0 || 10  nor  |   18	67  |	 8  |  1 || 11  sfo  |   27   104  |	43  |  2 || 12  bal  |   16	42  |	25  |  0 || 13  mia  |   17	79  |	19  |  0 || 14  atl  |   29   177  |	11  |  2 || 15  nyj  |   17   126  |	26  |  1 || 16  stl  |   20	83  |	 9  |  1 || 17  den  |   31   141  |	30  |  0 |+----------+-------------+--------+----+|  TOTAL   |  233  1104  |   224  |  9 |+----------+-------------+--------+----+

In the first 6 games of 2001, Rhodes was a part time player, and averaged 14.3 ypc. As a full time player starting the last 10 games, he averaged 4.31 ypc on 223 carries. Edge averaged better than that as a full time player in 3 of his seasons, including 2001.So SS's statement is incorrect, should read 4.31 ypc in 10 starts, which is fine, but nothing particularly impressive. And IMO joffer's statement is somewhat misleading, since Rhodes' ypc was inflated in 2001 while he was a part-timer but similar to James when he played full time.

so the 80-something yard run that Rhodes had after he replaced Edge in game 6 (post ACL tear)....we're not going to count that one huh?

You count whatever you want. I stand by my statement that your comparison was not apples to apples. And, more importantly, shouldn't this be more about predicting Rhodes' performance than comparing him with James? Would you not agree that his past performance as a full time RB in 2001 is his best useful sample set of performance for that purpose? To put it another way, I think it is much more likely he'll average 4.3 ypc than 4.7 ypc. How about you?

i agree, i don't think Rhodes YPC will be that high, i just thought the YPC number that you selectively calculated changed drastically because of that one run.i really believe that Indy's system produces good RB numbers, and that Edge was a good not great back in a great system. i think Rhodes or Addai, whoever gets the majority of the carries, can produce there

 

[BlackHole]

Rhodes' 2001 YPC was higher than Edge's YPC any year.

In 10 starts in 2001, he accumulated 1104 yards rushing and 9 TD's, averaging 4.7 yards/carry

Check Rhodes' 2001 game log:

+----------+-------------+--------+----+| WK  OPP  |  RSH   YD   |  RECYD | TD |+----------+-------------+--------+----+|  3  nwe  |	4	21  |	 8  |  0 ||  6  nwe  |	2	35  |	 0  |  0 ||  7  kan  |	4	87  |	 0  |  1 ||  8  buf  |   34   100  |	45  |  1 ||  9  mia  |   14	42  |	 0  |  0 || 10  nor  |   18	67  |	 8  |  1 || 11  sfo  |   27   104  |	43  |  2 || 12  bal  |   16	42  |	25  |  0 || 13  mia  |   17	79  |	19  |  0 || 14  atl  |   29   177  |	11  |  2 || 15  nyj  |   17   126  |	26  |  1 || 16  stl  |   20	83  |	 9  |  1 || 17  den  |   31   141  |	30  |  0 |+----------+-------------+--------+----+|  TOTAL   |  233  1104  |   224  |  9 |+----------+-------------+--------+----+

In the first 6 games of 2001, Rhodes was a part time player, and averaged 14.3 ypc. As a full time player starting the last 10 games, he averaged 4.31 ypc on 223 carries. Edge averaged better than that as a full time player in 3 of his seasons, including 2001.So SS's statement is incorrect, should read 4.31 ypc in 10 starts, which is fine, but nothing particularly impressive. And IMO joffer's statement is somewhat misleading, since Rhodes' ypc was inflated in 2001 while he was a part-timer but similar to James when he played full time.

so the 80-something yard run that Rhodes had after he replaced Edge in game 6 (post ACL tear)....we're not going to count that one huh?

You count whatever you want. I stand by my statement that your comparison was not apples to apples. And, more importantly, shouldn't this be more about predicting Rhodes' performance than comparing him with James? Would you not agree that his past performance as a full time RB in 2001 is his best useful sample set of performance for that purpose? To put it another way, I think it is much more likely he'll average 4.3 ypc than 4.7 ypc. How about you?

i agree, i don't think Rhodes YPC will be that high, i just thought the YPC number that you selectively calculated changed drastically because of that one run.i really believe that Indy's system produces good RB numbers, and that Edge was a good not great back in a great system. i think Rhodes or Addai, whoever gets the majority of the carries, can produce there

I'm not a stat cruncher, but I study and appreciate those that are. However, what you just stated is pretty much what all knowlegeable FF people think. I happen to believe that Rhodes will be more explosive this year, knows the system, blocks well and runs well. I do also believe that Rhodes is not the same RB of 5 years ago, MIGHT still have a fumbling problem (even when he was fumbing in 2001 he was helping Indi and FF owners out plenty, and Indi stuck with him when he did fumble). I know the coaching has changed, but Manning is still there. This is my main point I look at. Manning calls at least 60% of the plays (low number here that no one can argue). Manning has a knowledge and trust of Rhodes to run the right route, to the correct hole and block the right person, that Rhodes will see more calls from the field general then Addai. Of course, IF Rhodes shows a patern of not being able to do those things on a consistent basis or gets hurt, then Addai will get more oportunities. Until then, the 60 - 70% workload will be Rhodes, IMO.