Player Spotlight: Alfred Morris, RB, Washington Redskins (1 Viewer)

[Jason Wood]

2013 Player Spotlight Series

One of Footballguys best assets is our message board community. The Shark Pool is, in our view, the best place on the internet to discuss, debate and analyze all things fantasy football. In what's become an annual tradition, the Player Spotlight series is a key part of the preseason efforts. As many of you know, we consider the Player Spotlight threads the permanent record for analyzing the fantasy prospects of the player in question. This year, we plan to publish more than 140 offensive spotlights covering the vast majority of expected skill position starters.

As always we will post a list of players to be discussed each week. Those threads will remain open for the entire preseason, and should be a central point to discuss expectations for the player in question.

Thread Topic: Alfred Morris, RB, Washington Redskins

Player Page Link: Alfred Morris Player Page

Each article will include:

• Detailed viewpoint from a Footballguys staff member
• Links to thoughtful viewpoints from around the Web
• FBG Projections

The Rules

In order for this thread to provide maximum value, we ask that you follow a few simple guidelines:

• Focus commentary on the player (or players) in question, and your expectations for said player (or players)
• Back up your expectations in whatever manner you deem appropriate; avoid posts that simply say "I hate him" or "He's the best"
• Avoid redundancies or things like "good posting" ... this should be about incremental analysis or debate

While not a requirement, we strongly encourage you to provide your own projections for the player (players):

Projections should include:

• For QBs: Attempts, Completions, Passing Yards, Passing TDs, Ints, Rush Attempts, Rush Yards, Rush TDs
• For RBs: Rushes, Rushing Yards, Rush TDs, Receptions, Receiving Yards, Receiving TDs
• For WRs & TEs: Receptions, Receiving Yards, Receiving TDs

 

[bmsarvis]

1400 rushing 35/300 receiving 12 tds!

 

[MattFancy]

As a Skins fan I may be biased, but I don't see why he can't come close to last year's numbers. If anything, RG3 may not be running as much, which could mean more for Morris.

1525yds, 13tds, 200yds receiving.

 

[mphtrilogy]

will surpass.

1700yds / 15 tds/ 350rcvng

he is a da man

 

[FF Ninja]

Dude got 89% of his team's running back rushes. That's insane. If that trend continues, I see no reason for a decline. He's young. He's a hard worker. His team is getting better. All five starting linemen are returning. From what I've read, he's been working on the receiving so maybe he'll catch a few more passes this year. He had a heavy workload last year, but did not decline in the 2nd half. I didn't have him on any teams last year, but I imagine I'll have him on quite a few redrafts this year as his RB10 ranking appears to be a steal to me. There are 4-5 guys ahead of him that I'd take him over. With Griffin's injury, I expect they'll run a bit more this year, but even if they don't and he gets a smaller slice of the pie, he'll still have large enough workload to easily rank top 10.

I'm sure some will worry that Griffin will get injured again and that will impact Morris, but Cousins looked very good last year. I think Morris will be fine with either QB under center.

300 rushes x 4.8 ypc = 1440 yds 12 TD, 30 rec x 7.5 ypr = 225 yds 0 TD

 

[greggorymac]

Does anyone expect Helu to have a much bigger role this season now that he's healthy? Can Morris develop into a pass catching back or will he always be in the Turner/Ridley mold (high Rushing yds and TD potential, little receptions)?

 

[Sidewinder16]

Does anyone expect Helu to have a much bigger role this season now that he's healthy? Can Morris develop into a pass catching back or will he always be in the Turner/Ridley mold (high Rushing yds and TD potential, little receptions)?

If you're asking if Helu will steal touches/opportunity from Morris, I don't believe he will. At least, not significantly so. If he stays healthy, Helu will most likely take Royster's role in the offense. Morris should remain the workhorse and receive the lion's share of the RB touches.

I don't doubt that Morris can improve as a pass catcher, but I think the Shanahan's want another back that can provide different looks/wrinkles in the game plan than what Morris gives them. Still, whether that's Helu or someone else, I don't think that back will be anything more than a 3rd down RB/change-of-pace back.

 

[SeanTaylor21]

I may be biased as a Redskins fan...... but not in the way you would think.

Watching Alf all season, I felt he was pedestrian as a runner. I think he is the typical Shannahan RB that simply gets the job done. With that being said, I think he's just as likely to be forgotten once somebody else gets the opportunity. The Statue of Liberty might have better hands than he does but I think we definitely see a healthy Roy Helu/Chris Thompson presence on 3rd downs and whenever a play needs to be made in the RZ. I expect Alf to be good but not nearly as good as others perceive him to be... after all, if he loses Shanahan's trust then he's just as valuable as Ryan Torain.

Morris(assuming healthy): 290 carries, 1200 yards, 10 TDs; 10 recs, 52 yards, 0 TDs.

 

[The Milk Man]

My question (and I saw that the previous post touched on this) is how good is Alfred Morris? I didn't get a chance to see him much last year and I wonder how much of his success was the system...having to do with both typical Shanahan success and RG3/ the read option creating big holes for him. For those that saw him play a lot, is he someone where a lot of scouts and personnel people missed the boat and he is truly a talented RB...or was he a product of his surroundings? Torain, Tatum Bell, etc..

This is a situation where it seems like the it's ready-made for Morris to have another great year. However, with Shanahan, I just don't feel it's out of the realm of possibility to see someone else start to get more touches than people think.

 

[hotboyz]

1500 yds 18 tds

 

[Sylira21]

Helu can't stay healthy. Royster looks very pedestrian. They are two new guys with no better pedigree than Morris coming out of the sixth round last year. The Skins will want to run to protect Griffin. I don't see any real negatives to Morris' situation.

300 attempts @ 4.6 YPC = 1380 Yards rushing

14 Rushing TDs

20 Receptions @ 8.0 YPR = 160 Yards Receiving

1 Receiving TD

 

[Eviloutsider]

Like others have said, talent doesn't matter as much as situation and Morris is in a very good situation. Not much competition, decent offense, and a head coach who likes to run. I would rather have a less talented guy in that situation than Chris Johnson, who by all accounts has more talent, in Tennessee.

1,250 yards 9 TDs

23 209 1 TD

 

[Marvelous]

My question (and I saw that the previous post touched on this) is how good is Alfred Morris? I didn't get a chance to see him much last year and I wonder how much of his success was the system...having to do with both typical Shanahan success and RG3/ the read option creating big holes for him. For those that saw him play a lot, is he someone where a lot of scouts and personnel people missed the boat and he is truly a talented RB...or was he a product of his surroundings? Torain, Tatum Bell, etc..

This is a situation where it seems like the it's ready-made for Morris to have another great year. However, with Shanahan, I just don't feel it's out of the realm of possibility to see someone else start to get more touches than people think.

I don't normally respond the the player spotlight threads, but i thought i would provide a different point of view. As a disclaimer, I am a Redskin fan and follow the team quite closely. One thing I do is look at the playing time to see what a coach thinks of a player. You can frequently draw many accuracte conclusions from this. I looked at Alfred Morris extensively early in the season last year.

The most striking thing is that Shanahan handed Morris the starting job and nearly every carry, staring in game 1. Looking in the past, Shanahan did not give Clinton Portis or Terrell Davis that much so early in their careers. Shanahan has consistently shown with the Redskins that he works rookies in slowly unless they are very high draft picks. So Shanahan clearly sees something different in Morris.

Roy Helu started the year as the 3rd down back. Once he went on IR, Even Royster was the 3rd down back. Note that Royster was used primarily as a blocker, rarely catching or rushing the ball on passing downs despite playing a decent number of snaps.

The Redskins also played around lining WRs and TEs in the backfield as the deep back/pitch back for the option or to throw to out of the option. They initially wanted Brandon Banks to excel there, but he did not. I think they want a RB to do that and I expect Helu or Chris Thompson to play that role. If that is true, they will get some carries too.

I believe the Redskins really need a speed back to be a change of pace back. I think they will look Helu or Thomspon for that role. I think in some ways they used Griffin as a change of pace back last year. They will certainly want to reduce Griffin's running this y ear.

I expect Morris to improve modestly as a pass catcher. This is solely to diversify the offense. Last year, if Morris was in and they ran a pass play, you could pretty much count on Morris not getting the pass. Likewise, when Royster was in on 3rd downs, you could pretty much count on him blocking, not rushing or receiving a pass. The Redskins need more flexibility in their players.

So in summary: I still expect lots of read option and Morris pounding the football. He will be the short yardage back. I expect the offense to be more diverified. With Helu or Thompson as the deep back on option plays, I expect Griffin to pitch the ball more rather than keeping it. Morris will likely see his carries decline. Yards may or may not decline. TDs will probably be good as I expect Griffin will run much less near the goal line.

 

[Sidewinder16]

My question (and I saw that the previous post touched on this) is how good is Alfred Morris?

(snip)

For those that saw him play a lot, is he someone where a lot of scouts and personnel people missed the boat and he is truly a talented RB...or was he a product of his surroundings?

I'll add the same disclaimer Marvelous had, that I'm a Redskin fan. I'll also say, though, that, as fans, we've probably seen every single play that Morris has been on the football field, so I hope being fans doesn't completely discount our opinions.

Trying to label him as "truly a talented RB" is a little amorphous, simply because "talent" is a fairly general term, and different people have different ideas as to what a "talented RB" can or can't do. I would say that Morris isn't talented in the way that a RB like Adrian Peterson is talented (obviously their general talent levels are different). You can almost certainly put Peterson in any system, on any team, and he would produce. I'm not convinced you can do that with Morris.*

Morris, though, is perfectly talented for Shanahan's zone blocking run game. He came out of college with a good ability to find the developing hole, make his one cut and get moving north-south. I've read that as the season progressed he improved at seeing holes before they were actually there and at being patient waiting for blocks to develop. He is also extremely physical (he can run through arm tackles and blow over DBs; always keeps his legs churning), he's durable and he has tremendous heart/attitude (another amorphous quality, but one that gets overlooked too much, IMO). So all of that to say, I don't think Morris is devoid of any talent (I think he could succeed on another team, but probably not any random team), but I think his specific talents lead to the success he's had in his surroundings (Shanahan, after all, did target him in the draft after coaching him in the Senior Bowl). He was most likely overlooked by scouts because he was from a small school in a small conference and only a few teams use a zone blocking scheme (primarily).

*It's probably a bad idea to have used the best RB of the day to compare/contrast "talent", but I hope my point got across.

 

[swirvenirvin]

Lost of people expecting 30-40 carries less than last year for him. I still see him around the 320-330 mark.

 

[amicsta]

Dude got 89% of his team's running back rushes. That's insane. If that trend continues, I see no reason for a decline. He's young. He's a hard worker. His team is getting better. All five starting linemen are returning. From what I've read, he's been working on the receiving so maybe he'll catch a few more passes this year. He had a heavy workload last year, but did not decline in the 2nd half. I didn't have him on any teams last year, but I imagine I'll have him on quite a few redrafts this year as his RB10 ranking appears to be a steal to me. There are 4-5 guys ahead of him that I'd take him over. With Griffin's injury, I expect they'll run a bit more this year, but even if they don't and he gets a smaller slice of the pie, he'll still have large enough workload to easily rank top 10.

I'm sure some will worry that Griffin will get injured again and that will impact Morris, but Cousins looked very good last year. I think Morris will be fine with either QB under center.

300 rushes x 4.8 ypc = 1440 yds 12 TD, 30 rec x 7.5 ypr = 225 yds 0 TD

That's my biggest concern with Morris right there. Yes, Cousins showed some talent last year in relief of RG3, but it is that threat of the run from the quarterback that makes their whole offense work like it does. If Griffin is running less, or is not in the game, I would expect Morris' efficiency to drop pretty heavily. I also am just not a fan of RBs that don't catch passes. Really puts a cap on his overall production. I dont see him making the leap from 11 to 30, seems a little high to me. And if he isn't catching passes, he HAS to be in the top 4 or 5 guys in terms of rushing yards AND get 10+ TD to be worthy of his draft slot because many rbs are going to equal or surpass him in total yards (and if its PPR, even the same yards with more catches is better). I honestly think that the Redskins will throw more this year than last. Morris is honestly a little overrated to me right now:

316 carries/4.6 ypc/1454 yards/11 TD

10 receptions/7 ypr/ 70 yards

 

[Sidewinder16]

I believe the Redskins really need a speed back to be a change of pace back. I think they will look Helu or Thomspon for that role. I think in some ways they used Griffin as a change of pace back last year. They will certainly want to reduce Griffin's running this y ear.

From John Keim's "Notes and Observations" from camp yesterday:

It’s hard to imagine anyone but Roy Helu ending up as the third-down back for Washington. He’s done a decent job in pass protection and he remains their best receiving threat out of the backfield. He also had a nice run today, running with excellent pad level through the hole.

Now he just has to stay healthy.

 

[Sidewinder16]

FWIW:

Morris said he entered training camp in “tip-top” shape and he’s fine-tuned the few areas he didn’t excel in last season.

He wants to become more of a threat in the passing game after hauling in just seven receptions a year ago. He’s also worked to improve his pass-protection skills.

Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said Morris’ increased involvement in the passing game will give the team “another dimension.”

Backup quarterback Kirk Cousins said he’s noticed so far in training camp that Morris’ “hands have gotten a lot better.”

“There’s been a lot of backs in the past that have been in colleges that really don’t throw the football a lot,” Shanahan said. “They emphasize the running game, and Alfred was one of those type of guys. But he’s elevated his game, and he will be able to catch the ball and be a lot more instrumental in our passing game.”

Morris has found areas to work on this season. Chester said in addition to his pass-catching improvements, he’s looking like more of a natural pass blocker in training camp.

Morris said he’s worked to diversify his game so that he doesn’t have to be replaced on third downs. He also said he’ll never believe he has the starting job locked up, especially after the team added running backs Chris Thompson and Jawan Jamison late in the draft, a similar spot to where he was selected.

Roy Helu and Evan Royster also return to the backfield, but Morris said his goal is “outwork everyone.”

 

[bmsarvis]

I may be biased as a Redskins fan...... but not in the way you would think.

Watching Alf all season, I felt he was pedestrian as a runner. I think he is the typical Shannahan RB that simply gets the job done. With that being said, I think he's just as likely to be forgotten once somebody else gets the opportunity. The Statue of Liberty might have better hands than he does but I think we definitely see a healthy Roy Helu/Chris Thompson presence on 3rd downs and whenever a play needs to be made in the RZ. I expect Alf to be good but not nearly as good as others perceive him to be... after all, if he loses Shanahan's trust then he's just as valuable as Ryan Torain.

Morris(assuming healthy): 290 carries, 1200 yards, 10 TDs; 10 recs, 52 yards, 0 TDs.

Everybody's entitled to they're opinion. But my opinion is that your opinion is waaaaaaay off in morris. Dude is a beast of an rb

 

[JustinHawkins]

I see a combined 2000 yard season for Alfred, along with 15+ TDs. BEAST!!!

 

[Defenze]

I see a combined 2000 yard season for Alfred, along with 15+ TDs. BEAST!!!

Annnddddd............then you woke up.

 

[JustinHawkins]

I see a combined 2000 yard season for Alfred, along with 15+ TDs. BEAST!!!

Annnddddd............then you woke up.

Quiet Logan or I'll stick those claws up your butt Actually if Morris develops in the passing game as much as he and the coaches have said, that wouldn't be out of reach. But I agree its unlikely. 1800 probably more realistic total yards.

 

[VikingFrog]

Had the choice between Richardson and Morris yesterday and went Morris.

Am I crazy?

I don't know how one can look at T Rich's stats from last year and compare them to Morris and say he's the better choice.

 

[bmsarvis]

Broken ribs

 

[JustinHawkins]

Kyle and Shanny had aquite yesterday about how much better a RB Morris is this year. Scary thought!

 

[VikingFrog]

Broken ribs

That's very true. I tend to forget about that. And I didn't watch much of Richardson last year, so I'm probably over reacting.

I guess I feel like Morris put up amazing stats last year for a rookie, but doesn't get talked about as much as some if these guys.

 

[MattFancy]

Broken ribs

That's very true. I tend to forget about that. And I didn't watch much of Richardson last year, so I'm probably over reacting.

I guess I feel like Morris put up amazing stats last year for a rookie, but doesn't get talked about as much as some if these guys.

I think its 2 fold. 1) Shanny is his coach and 2) He doesn't catch passes.

I think both of those are stupid reasons. Dude was #2 in rushing yads his ROOKIE season. He's gonna have another top 10 fantasy season.

 

[Sidewinder16]

Snippets from a piece by John Keim on how Morris is better this year than he was last year.

Here’s how Morris is better:

1. He’s quicker. Morris cuts with more suddenness than he did last year, a byproduct of feeling more comfortable in the system but also because of his offseason work. It was evident in training camp when Morris didn’t just have to rely on lowering a shoulder to get extra yards; he could get them with his feet. Morris cut well last season, but there is a difference in 2013

2. He’s more comfortable. Morris said it took him four or five games to get that feeling as a rookie. It’s why he treats the season opener versus New Orleans the way a film critic would treat Ishtar.

“I hate watching those early games, especially the Saints game,” he said. “My tracks were terrible. It was bad at times. Now I’ve learned the offense and now I’m starting to own the offense. I get what they’re trying to do, like setting up blocks. I’m better at what I do.”

3. Along with that comfort comes maturity. It matters. When Morris runs, it often looks as if he’s peeking downfield to see where his second cut needs to be. There’s a reason it appears that way. That’s exactly what Morris is doing.

“Last year I’m just looking at my aiming point,” Morris said. “Say I’m aiming for the outside leg of the tackle, instead of looking right there I’m looking outside the tackle and I know where I’m going and I can look beyond that. I can look at the second level.”

4. OK, this isn’t a change. In fact, it’s still the crux of who he is as a runner. Morris has added to his game in other ways; but the impression he likes to leave on defenders remains the same.

“I’m not much of an upper-body person,” Morris said. “I can hang, but my strength is in my legs. I used to joke around in high school that my legs were my moneymakers. They actually do make me money now. I pride myself in strong legs, and the one thing I do is keep my legs churning no matter what. I never stop my feet, breaking tackles it helps your momentum. You get a lot of big, strong defenders out there, a lot of times I can hang with these guys bigger and stronger by keeping my legs churning. I refuse to be tackled by one person without getting the maximum yards I can get.”