Screw Shanahan! Now hes keeping the starting rb a secret ! typ (1 Viewer)

[FreeBaGeL]

I own Royster and Morris. Helu is the guy to have here, he's got the talent. He's going to have some big stretches where he puts teams into the playoffs.

 

[bweiser]

i swore i was going to avoid this situation. then i drafted evan royster.

 

[Native]

i swore i was going to avoid this situation.

Me too

 

[phrozen]

Chris Russell is the guy you want to follow.

@russellmania980 on twitter, Rich Campbell is good too.

 

[Sidewinder16]

Chris Russell is the guy you want to follow.

@russellmania980 on twitter, Rich Campbell is good too.

The best ones have been mentioned, but I'd be careful thinking anyone can get firsthand information regarding who will start and who won't. For one, a portion of every practice is open to the media, but the team does nothing "significant" during that time (and it's something like an hour or less). Second, media members can have their access to Redskins Park revoked if they are found divulging "strategic" information, especially stuff like who is practicing with the #1s and who is practicing with the #2s. I've heard this mentioned before by a couple of beat writers.

 

[Marvelous]

One note on Chris Russell: he essentially works for the Redskins. He is employed by ESPN 980, which the Redskins and Daniel Snyder own. He has accees to a lot more than just what the media has access to. He has also mentioned numerous times that there is a lot of information he is not allowed to share.

Russell has also said for the first game, he expects Royster to be the primary 1st down/runign down back with some Alfred Morris mixed in. Helu will play on most passing downs. The Royster/Helu split is consistent with how they were used in preseason. Alfred Morris is a wild card here, but if he gets more playing time, it would initially be at the expense of Royster.

 

[Stinkin Ref]

No my guess is Shanahan is one of those self righteous bastards, who thinks " How dare someone gamble on my players and my lively hood". So anytime he thinks he can make life harder on those people he will.

Right, because it's all about you. Nothing wrong with Shanny's tactics. Funny how much even the staffers here ##### and complain because it is sub-optimal for their needs.

FWIW his hood isn't all that lively from what I've heard.

I've never ever understood this(people complaining about guys like Shanny). It would seem to me that the ways in which the better FF players separate themselves from ordinary players is through their ability to accurately analyze and predict situations that are murky and unknown. As such they should want as many of these situations as possible- the average FF players will just live by maxims such as "never draft a Shanny RB", whereas the true shark will be able to independently analyze each situation and use his skill to arrive at better predictions than others.

this...I've never understood why people ##### about this....and then they start attacking Shanny personally with comments like he thinks he is smarter then he is, etc....well he is doing something right if he has 1 of the 32 most prestigous coaching jobs in the world....if I was a coach I wouldn't say #### about any player/any position.....almost every answer would be something along the lines of "we''ll see on Sunday"...to me that plays along with three things....one, you are not giving your opponents any information ahead of time...two, you are maybe keeping some players motivated and working hard that may need that extra push....and three, vanilla answers can also keep you from getting into too many personal comments about players/situations etc, and help keep you from saying something you really don't want to get into....

those #####ing about Shanny....get over it....do your homework, watch the players, do your self evaluations and make your decision.....if that means avoiding the situation altogether...so be it...

 

[B-Deep]

I'm all in on Blue Royster Cult

 

[Reepicheep]

i swore i was going to avoid this situation.

Me too

yep.

 

[Marvelous]

i swore i was going to avoid this situation.

Me too

yep.

I am smelling lots of fantasy football value. I fully expect that at some point, Royster or Morris will lock down the starting jobs and get the bulk of the touches.

 

[B-Deep]

royster is going to run over the saints like godzilla through tokyo

 

[sspunisher]

royster is going to run over the saints like godzilla through tokyo

Lol nice

 

[Marvelous]

I was checking the game logs for Terrell Davis and Clinton Portis in their rookie years. Both running backs were eased into the offense. By week 5, they were clearly the starter and getting the bulk of the touches. Other backs still got some.

 

[B-Deep]

the only thing shanny needs is more cowbell

 

[flapgreen]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

 

[B-Deep]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

it's a ploy to motivate....someone

 

[Team ROFLCOPTERS]

For the last few years I don't put any redskins running back on my roster.I don't care how hot the pickup is, not worth the getting screwed over part.(let some other idiots in your league play the shanny game)

I draft to sell.

 

[ConnSKINS26]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

 

[Stinkin Ref]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

think about what you just typed for a minute....if it is a pointless strategy that helps no one (which means it hurts no one) and Shanny is an idiot.....and it's really not that big of a deal.....why then does it initiate somewhat passionate remarks like the one you just typed....?

 

[flapgreen]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

think about what you just typed for a minute....if it is a pointless strategy that helps no one (which means it hurts no one) and Shanny is an idiot.....and it's really not that big of a deal.....why then does it initiate somewhat passionate remarks like the one you just typed....?

Thanks.

 

[Run It Up]

I would say Shanahan doesnt care about your fantasy team. But I think he may not even care about the redskins.

 

[flapgreen]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

 

[Marvelous]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

Let's look at this from the other side. What advantage is there for the Redskins for Shanahan to announce to the world who his staring RB is?He also has not announced who is startign in liue of Brandon Meriweather. Should he also announce that to the world?Come to think of it, Shanahan hasn't announced who the 2nd starting WR is, or whether he is starting with 2 WR-2 TE-1 RB, 3 WR-1 TE-1 RB, or 2 WR- 1 TE-1 FB-1 RB. And I seriously doubt he will.

 

[Stinkin Ref]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

think about what you just typed for a minute....if it is a pointless strategy that helps no one (which means it hurts no one) and Shanny is an idiot.....and it's really not that big of a deal.....why then does it initiate somewhat passionate remarks like the one you just typed....?

Thanks.

glad i could help

 

[Stinkin Ref]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

if you don't think defenses gameplan for skillsets of different players you're nuts....thats why this discussion is so stupid....it's not all about who is out there for the first snap....it's about touches....and yes they gameplan for what they want to do based on who the other team has in the game....

 

[Short Corner]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

Are you saying that their preparation is exactly the same for all possible RBs they play in a given week?

 

[Sweetness_34]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

think about what you just typed for a minute....if it is a pointless strategy that helps no one (which means it hurts no one) and Shanny is an idiot.....and it's really not that big of a deal.....why then does it initiate somewhat passionate remarks like the one you just typed....?

That is because flapgreen is the real tool

 

[ConnSKINS26]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

Are YOU serious? Jesus. Of coure DC's prepare for the skill-sets of different players.

 

[flapgreen]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

think about what you just typed for a minute....if it is a pointless strategy that helps no one (which means it hurts no one) and Shanny is an idiot.....and it's really not that big of a deal.....why then does it initiate somewhat passionate remarks like the one you just typed....?

That is because flapgreen is the real tool

Sweetness, what's up bro? I thought you died of being stupid. Good to have you back.

 

[SameSongNDance]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

..because Royster, Helu and Morris all have the same skill set. I personally think Shanny gets a bad rap because people sometimes can't draw the line between real and fantasy football. He also gets a bad rap for the RBBC he created only a short while ago (2007). From 1989-2007, he essentially leaned on one back yet people never care to look back that far. It's also no coincidence that from 2007-2011 every back he tried to lean on got injured. Nothing is set in stone, one of these backs could play for a majority of the season (not Helu, he couldn't even stay healthy in Nebraska).

 

[BassNBrew]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

think about what you just typed for a minute....if it is a pointless strategy that helps no one (which means it hurts no one) and Shanny is an idiot.....and it's really not that big of a deal.....why then does it initiate somewhat passionate remarks like the one you just typed....?

That is because flapgreen is the real tool

Sweetness, what's up bro? I thought you died of being stupid. Good to have you back.

My guess is that you both figuratively die due to lack of excellence to others.

 

[flapgreen]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

Are YOU serious? Jesus. Of coure DC's prepare for the skill-sets of different players.

If that's where you want go, then DC's would have to "approach the game differently" if any starter on offense wasn't announced during the week. You're painting a broad stroke here. This isn't ADP who might not play. It's a group of mediocre rbs. Defenses are going to prepare any differently if the starter isn't named. Shanny always mixes in different backs, at least he has in Washington. Defensive coordinators have more to worry about than trying to figure out how much Shanny plays each rb.

 

[flapgreen]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

..because Royster, Helu and Morris all have the same skill set. I personally think Shanny gets a bad rap because people sometimes can't draw the line between real and fantasy football. He also gets a bad rap for the RBBC he created only a short while ago (2007). From 1989-2007, he essentially leaned on one back yet people never care to look back that far. It's also no coincidence that from 2007-2011 every back he tried to lean on got injured. Nothing is set in stone, one of these backs could play for a majority of the season (not Helu, he couldn't even stay healthy in Nebraska).

You can give me the all you like. Where did I say they didn't have a different skill set? I said none of them are good enough to change much in the way of preparation for an opposing defense. I don't think the Skins getting an edge at all by not naming a starter. At this point, it doesn't make a bit of difference which guy plays. I highly doubt teams are spending time on trying to prepare for different rbs while RG III is sitting there waiting.Eta: Not many people have to look back to know he didn't use rbbc in Denver.

 

[davearm]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

Are YOU serious? Jesus. Of coure DC's prepare for the skill-sets of different players.

Elaborate please, as it applies to these three RBs.How, specifically, is the preparation different for Royster (56 NFL carries)?For Helu (151 NFL carries)?For Morris (zero NFL carries)?Are there certain personnel groups they can have in the game vs. Royster but not Helu?Can they blitz off the corner when Morris is in there, but not the others?Is the defense they call on 3rd and 7 at midfield predicated on who is in the backfield?Just trying to get my head around what you're saying about this situation in particular.

 

[FavreCo]

Skeletor is going with the hot hand.

http://www.theredzone.org/BlogDescription/tabid/61/EntryId/28832/Redskins-will-ride--hot-hand--at-running-back/Default.aspx

 

[ConnSKINS26]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

Are YOU serious? Jesus. Of coure DC's prepare for the skill-sets of different players.

If that's where you want go, then DC's would have to "approach the game differently" if any starter on offense wasn't announced during the week. You're painting a broad stroke here. This isn't ADP who might not play. It's a group of mediocre rbs. Defenses are going to prepare any differently if the starter isn't named. Shanny always mixes in different backs, at least he has in Washington. Defensive coordinators have more to worry about than trying to figure out how much Shanny plays each rb.

Actually, one RB almost always gets the majority of touches for Shanahan any given week, barring injury...the trick is figuring out which one it will be. You sound ridiculous, by the way. Teams would prepare differently for Helu, with his speed and receiving ability, than Morris, who is a much different runner with a different skill-set.Defensive Coordinators don't just check fantasy rankings and decide to only prepare for the top 15.

 

[ConnSKINS26]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

Are YOU serious? Jesus. Of coure DC's prepare for the skill-sets of different players.

Elaborate please, as it applies to these three RBs.How, specifically, is the preparation different for Royster (56 NFL carries)?For Helu (151 NFL carries)?For Morris (zero NFL carries)?Are there certain personnel groups they can have in the game vs. Royster but not Helu?Can they blitz off the corner when Morris is in there, but not the others?Is the defense they call on 3rd and 7 at midfield predicated on who is in the backfield?Just trying to get my head around what you're saying about this situation in particular.

Have you seen all three okay? Are they utilized identically? The answer to that is no. Helu in the backfield brings an entirely different threat than Morris or Royster.

 

[fatness]

I know Rat Face inherited Haynesworth, but I'm not sure that end result was the best for his locker room. I'm not sure starting Josh Morgan for his contract over his performance will either.

Josh Morgan was one of their 2 best receivers in preseason. Garcon was the other. They're both starting.

 

[SameSongNDance]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

Are YOU serious? Jesus. Of coure DC's prepare for the skill-sets of different players.

Elaborate please, as it applies to these three RBs.How, specifically, is the preparation different for Royster (56 NFL carries)?

For Helu (151 NFL carries)?

For Morris (zero NFL carries)?

Are there certain personnel groups they can have in the game vs. Royster but not Helu?

Can they blitz off the corner when Morris is in there, but not the others?

Is the defense they call on 3rd and 7 at midfield predicated on who is in the backfield?

Just trying to get my head around what you're saying about this situation in particular.

I'm not a DC, I don't know how one would plan to deal with different RB skill sets, but I will use another example. Many people have speculated that Tomlin has been making it seem as if Mendenhall had/has a chance to play this week even though most people know there's a very slim chance of that happening. Why else would he do this if not to make it harder for DEN to plan for PIT's run game?

Although he is listed as a full participant again in Thursday's practice, Rashard Mendenhall (knee) concedes that he's only working "a little bit."

Beat writers didn't even see Mendenhall in Thursday's portion open to the media. According to Steel City Insider, playing in Sunday night's game at Denver "really hasn't been in his plans." This news lends credence to the belief that coach Mike Tomlin's comments have been merely a tactic to keep the Broncos guessing on the ground attack. Jonathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman figure to be the primary ball carriers in Week 1.

This type of gamesmanship isn't something new.

 

[flapgreen]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

Are YOU serious? Jesus. Of coure DC's prepare for the skill-sets of different players.

If that's where you want go, then DC's would have to "approach the game differently" if any starter on offense wasn't announced during the week. You're painting a broad stroke here. This isn't ADP who might not play. It's a group of mediocre rbs. Defenses are going to prepare any differently if the starter isn't named. Shanny always mixes in different backs, at least he has in Washington. Defensive coordinators have more to worry about than trying to figure out how much Shanny plays each rb.

Actually, one RB almost always gets the majority of touches for Shanahan any given week, barring injury...the trick is figuring out which one it will be. You sound ridiculous, by the way. Teams would prepare differently for Helu, with his speed and receiving ability, than Morris, who is a much different runner with a different skill-set.Defensive Coordinators don't just check fantasy rankings and decide to only prepare for the top 15.

Yep, that's what I meant.

 

[benson_will_lead_the_way]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

..because Royster, Helu and Morris all have the same skill set. I personally think Shanny gets a bad rap because people sometimes can't draw the line between real and fantasy football. He also gets a bad rap for the RBBC he created only a short while ago (2007). From 1989-2007, he essentially leaned on one back yet people never care to look back that far. It's also no coincidence that from 2007-2011 every back he tried to lean on got injured. Nothing is set in stone, one of these backs could play for a majority of the season (not Helu, he couldn't even stay healthy in Nebraska).

You can give me the all you like. Where did I say they didn't have a different skill set? I said none of them are good enough to change much in the way of preparation for an opposing defense. I don't think the Skins getting an edge at all by not naming a starter. At this point, it doesn't make a bit of difference which guy plays. I highly doubt teams are spending time on trying to prepare for different rbs while RG III is sitting there waiting.Eta: Not many people have to look back to know he didn't use rbbc in Denver.

Now the rest of the SP will give me empathy because of how much I have to deal with Flapgreen in the Bears thread.Different football players require different gameplans/techniques/strategies/etc.Oh and he never admits he's wrong.

 

[flapgreen]

 

[flapgreen]

I'm hardly ever wrong. That's why you rarely hear me admit it.

 

[ConnSKINS26]

I'm hardly ever wrong. That's why you rarely hear me admit it.

Ah, I see. You're that kind of #####.

 

[RBM]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

and No coach is losing sleep trying to figure out whether Roy Helu, Eric Royster or Alf Morris is starting...c'mon people.

 

[davearm]

Elaborate please, as it applies to these three RBs.How, specifically, is the preparation different for Royster (56 NFL carries)?For Helu (151 NFL carries)?For Morris (zero NFL carries)?Are there certain personnel groups they can have in the game vs. Royster but not Helu?Can they blitz off the corner when Morris is in there, but not the others?Is the defense they call on 3rd and 7 at midfield predicated on who is in the backfield?Just trying to get my head around what you're saying about this situation in particular.

Have you seen all three okay? Are they utilized identically? The answer to that is no. Helu in the backfield brings an entirely different threat than Morris or Royster.

What plays do the Redskins run with Helu that they don't run with the other two guys? You say they're not utilized identically, so explain.And more to the point, The notion that the defense will change its scheme on a particular play based on which guy is in the backfield strikes me as rather unlikely. None of these guys are good enough, or different enough, to dictate how to defend against them.Unless someone convinces me otherwise, I still lean toward, the opponent will defend the formation/down/distance/yardline/tendencies etc. way more than which RB the Skins have in the game.

 

[flapgreen]

Elaborate please, as it applies to these three RBs.How, specifically, is the preparation different for Royster (56 NFL carries)?For Helu (151 NFL carries)?For Morris (zero NFL carries)?Are there certain personnel groups they can have in the game vs. Royster but not Helu?Can they blitz off the corner when Morris is in there, but not the others?Is the defense they call on 3rd and 7 at midfield predicated on who is in the backfield?Just trying to get my head around what you're saying about this situation in particular.

Have you seen all three okay? Are they utilized identically? The answer to that is no. Helu in the backfield brings an entirely different threat than Morris or Royster.

What plays do the Redskins run with Helu that they don't run with the other two guys? You say they're not utilized identically, so explain.And more to the point, The notion that the defense will change its scheme on a particular play based on which guy is in the backfield strikes me as rather unlikely. None of these guys are good enough, or different enough, to dictate how to defend against them.Unless someone convinces me otherwise, I still lean toward, the opponent will defend the formation/down/distance/yardline/tendencies etc. way more than which RB the Skins have in the game.

This guy gets it.

 

[Short Corner]

This never makes sense. Shanny is an idiot. Keeping your starting rb a secret is a pointless strategy. It helps no one.

Really? It doesn't effect his own RB's much, and it forces the opposing defense to gameplan for different skill-sets. You're going to approach the game differently if you KNOW Helu is going to touch the ball 20+ times than you would if it was Royster or Morris getting most of the touches.

You can't be serious. You really think opposing teams prepare much differently if they don't know which one of those turds is starting? Come on!

and No coach is losing sleep trying to figure out whether Roy Helu, Eric Royster or Alf Morris is starting...c'mon people.

It's not about the coach losing sleep.

 

[Sidewinder16]

What plays do the Redskins run with Helu that they don't run with the other two guys? You say they're not utilized identically, so explain.

And more to the point, The notion that the defense will change its scheme on a particular play based on which guy is in the backfield strikes me as rather unlikely. None of these guys are good enough, or different enough, to dictate how to defend against them.

I think you're vastly underestimating, not just the differences between these 3 backs, but the lengths NFL coaches will go to in order to gain an advantage on an opponent.Here's a short synopsis (hardly as in depth as the player/scouting info an opposing DC will have) on each RB from beat writer John Keim:

Royster » With Tim Hightower unhealthy, Royster entered camp as the No. 1 back. The only reason he momentarily left that spot was because of a sore knee. Royster has excellent vision and makes decisive cuts. The inside zone runs fit him well because of this. He improved in pass protection and does a good job getting yards after contact (or did in his two starts last season). Royster's issue is speed and balance. Both prevented any runs over 28 yards last season. Yet it's tough to ignore his 5.9 yards per carry in 2011.

Morris » The rookie from Florida Atlantic emerged as one of the best stories in training camp. What he showed likely will transfer over to the regular-season games, too. His style of running -- low pad level, good body lean -- lends itself to positive gains. Indeed, in his 39 carries this summer he lost yards on only three carries -- and 20 gained at least 4 yards. He's not fast -- Morris ran the 40-yard dash in 4.68 seconds at the combine. But he anticipates pressure well, allowing him to make quick cuts.

But Morris struggled picking up the blitz. It's not a matter of desire or technique; it's a matter of recognition. In college he said he was responsible for only half the field. Here, he must pick up blitzes from both sides. Does Shanahan trust him yet in this role? It's a factor.

Helu » He's tough to figure. He looked like he could carry a heavy load during a four-game stretch in which he ran 96 times. But then he carried a combined four times in the next two games. And this season he already has dealt with sore Achilles tendons, limiting him to two preseason games (but 15 carries for 90 yards in the final one). It's hard to imagine him being ready for a full load.

But he also has the most flash of the three and therefore more long-run potential. Helu shakes more defenders, especially when he can get on the edge. He's better than the other two running the outside stretch zone as well as on screen passes. He was inconsistent in pass protection last season; the coaches say he has improved.

Morris and Royster are the better "between the tackle runners" because they do a good job of seeing the cutback lanes, making a hard plant and getting north/south. Helu is better getting to the outside and is the biggest "homerun" threat (better speed and wiggle) of the 3. Helu is probably also the best receiver and blocker of the 3.I find it hard to believe that people don't think defenses won't plan/scheme/practice/play call differently for a speedy, shifty RB who can get to the corners, pass block and receive well as opposed to a RB who is a better "one-cut and get up the field" runner who doesn't pass catch or pass protect as well. Is it too hard to understand that a DC will know he can be more successful with certain types of blitzes against Morris than he can against Helu?

Anyone who doesn't think coaches don't take in to account even the most trivial minutiae is deluding themselves (and I, personally, don't see different RBs with different strengths and weaknesses as minutae; that seems pretty important to me).