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Ryan Mathews (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter scott72
- Start date
Giants4Life
Footballguy
I'm expecting us to formulate opinions after 4 or 5 games, not 1
TobiasFunke
Footballguy
For the benefit of those of us on the east coast who didn't make it to 1:30 AM- what exactly were the situations you speak of in which Sproles was in the game instead of Mathews? Were these drives in which time was a factor, i.e. obvious passing situations, i.e. situations in which any reasonable Mathews owner would have expected to see Sproles? Or did the Chargers have plenty of time to run their regular offense and just opt for Sproles instead of Mathews?
Brady Gaga
Footballguy
Idk but I noticed that Mike Tobert is available in my league and I think I'm gonna try to roster him as long as I can. Sproels was over-used and hopefully, Norv learned that he needs to use Sproels sparingly and give Mathews a good 20 - 25 carries.
And that if Mathews were to go down, then Tolbert would be worthy of those 20 carries with Sproels just handling 3rd-and-longs and the return game.
But Tolbert should be the real handcuff to Mathews, not Sproels.
And that if Mathews were to go down, then Tolbert would be worthy of those 20 carries with Sproels just handling 3rd-and-longs and the return game.
But Tolbert should be the real handcuff to Mathews, not Sproels.
Yes, I was disappointed that they didn't use him more in the second half. But perhaps he was getting confused by what KC was throwing at them. For whatever reason, Norv didn't feel comfortable putting him in that situation. From Ryan's post-game comments, it sounded like he realized his errors and that he would be working on correcting them this week.I just hope the Chargers begin to utilize Ryan's tough-running capabilities at the goal line. I'm convinced he has the capability to pound those short yardage tries into the end zone if given half a chance. He could have tied the game for them on that last series last night. Sproles isn't going to get it done.
Brady Gaga
Footballguy
Chargers were running out of time.But I still like Mathews better than Sproels even for those situations.
Or at least bring him in once you get inside the 10 yard line with a minute to spare and a couple timeouts to burn. That seemed like a no-brainer.
TobiasFunke
Footballguy
You might like Mathews better, but I think it was pretty clear that the Chargers wouldn't, at least initially. They stated that Sproles would be the third down/passing situation back, at least initially. I didn't see it, but from what I can tell, apparently last night's roles for Mathews and Sproles played out exactly as someone would have expected based on preseason comments from the Chargers' coaching staff. No idea how that could be seen as "disappointing" or affecting expectations moving forward. Am I missing something about the final drive?
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well, Matthews did okay until he fumbled the football. After that, his time on the field was very limited. I expect this was the coaches way of saying 'I'm not playing you if I cant trust you to look after the ball'.Rookies tend to be on a shorter leash with respect to these things than Vets are. I wouldnt look too much into this unless he starts putting the ball on the ground in future games.
AngryPatriot
Footballguy
RM owner here and not good. That fumble may have been part of the cause and now I remember that many things NT does make little sense. Sproles was in a lot and Tolbert as well. Small sample but if Sproles/Tolbert are in for every 3rd down AND action around the goalline, Mathews is an RB3 who we hope breaks off a big TD run now and then. That's not what I was hoping for by any stretch although he is a rookie and it probably is wise to break him in some. The next few games will tell more. He looked out of position at times, uncomfortable, and could do better in getting in space for dump offs/screens. BUT- he also looked like he could break one off at any moment.... WITH SOME BLOCKING!!! There may be a good reason SD couldn't run the ball last year.
Clifford
Footballguy
Yep. Rivers was already royally pissed before that and I think that was it. Wouldn't be surprised if Rivers told Norv not to let him back in the game. Man Rivers was being pissy last night.
Sproles is the passing down back so with the Chargers trailing it was no surprise he was in. Only time I was a little surprised was when they got inside the 10 yard line they still kept in Sproles. Maybe it was because Mathews made a few mistakes but maybe it was because he was tired. He ran pretty violently with his 19 carries.
Unless you thought Mathews was going to be a 3 down back and catch a lot of passes I would not worry about it. A two down back getting 19 carries in a game they trailed is actually pretty good. He'll get his touches.
Do agree that Tolbert is his handcuff. I don't own Mathews in any league but I've got Tolbert in a few. I think a rookie RB not used to the rigors of the NFL who runs as violently as Mathews is going to have a tough time staying healthy all year.
Unless you thought Mathews was going to be a 3 down back and catch a lot of passes I would not worry about it. A two down back getting 19 carries in a game they trailed is actually pretty good. He'll get his touches.
Do agree that Tolbert is his handcuff. I don't own Mathews in any league but I've got Tolbert in a few. I think a rookie RB not used to the rigors of the NFL who runs as violently as Mathews is going to have a tough time staying healthy all year.
theplayer11
Footballguy
Matthews didn't impress me..Seemed to run straight into the pile a lot..and KC doesn't have great run D
Dexter Manley
Footballguy
Exactly. And factor in that SD was trailing by a td in the 4th quarter and it's pretty easy to see why he wasn't in the game late.
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
I think Mathews will be fine. He will be a solid contributor. Probably will still put up 10-12 TDs and good yardage overall, but won't be a guy who puts up crazy good weeks. He also won't be a guy who gives you major duds either. I see him putting up numbers kind of like the ones Ryan Grant put up last year.
Wuss
FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
SD got the ball back, down by 7, with about 1:54 left on their own 30 yard line or so. I don't think it was any surprise that Sproles was in in that situation, they were lined up in the shotgun with 4 WRs running their hurry-up offense.
TobiasFunke
Footballguy
Obviously. I'm married and lazy. Wuss is an understatement.
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Insein
Footballguy
4th Qtr, Chargers down 21-14. Sproles pretty much was in from the 8 min mark on. Chargers threw on almost every play except 1 or 2 draws. Oh yea, I'm in PA. That was a game worth staying up for. That KC crowd was raucus.Too echo some above thoughts, Tolbert looked like a battering ram when he was in there.
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goodoldalky
Footballguy
Disagree.. KC has invested heavily in their run D the past few years, particularly with their draft, and I think it is paying off. They have an aggressive defense, I think it is much, much improved. It honestly looked like a 3-4 which was one of the stronger D's in the AFC. That is all assuming Tyson Jackson is okay after he got dinged up in the 2nd half, but I think the combination of Hali/Jackson/Dorsey was really formidable. Fact is, if you spend top 5 picks on defensive players every year, sooner or later, you should be getting pretty good.
I would temper my expectations out of matthews this season. Last night was running conditions, they had the ball near the goal line on multiple occasions, and they still only gave Matthews what 1? 2? cracks inside the 10. This is a pass first, pass second team that will throw a hell of a lot at the goal line.
CaptainHook
Footballguy
in a hurry up offense needing a lot of late points it makes a hell of a lot of sense to play the really good receiving vet who totally understands the offense. especially when the rookie is looking a little bit frazzled. i wouldnt see it as a negative sign for matthews at all the chargers looked pretty good overall rivers just had an off night due to the rain.
this is wrong. after he fumbled, the next drive he carried on the first play. the drive after that, he opened with 2 carries. it sure seemed he stayed the primary back after that fumble in the 2nd qtr. for some reason he got replaced by sproles at the end of the game when they were running the 2min drill.he was also periodically replaced on passing downs by sproles and sproles and tolbert got a few carries in there.imo, he looked great and sd looks intent on feeding him the ball. i dont have him on any teams but i wish i woulda snagged him. fwiw, sproles looks really bad, very slow.
He looked pretty good in my opinion. He had a couple of hard runs, obviously the one he fumbled on was his best (should have covered up with two hands as he was finishing). He is a smart kid and a hard worker, I am sure he will learn from it. He will get a ton of looks in the red zone this year, it is still a great offense. It was kind of an odd game and if he didn't get stripped most likely would have easily gone over 100. If he can just get a hole here and there and a little bit more creative play calls I am sure he will bust a few big ones. Knocking the ball out of Rivers hands was kind of flukey but that is what really cost him. I don't think he saw the field after that.
