With the QB position, I like having one guy step up and be "THE" QB... I don't care how many great QB's we have on the roster. With the RB situation, on the other hand, I prefer the situation where we have the blessing of being able to spread the carries equally among multiple RBs that are equally great. Sure, from a fan perspective, it is cool having "THE" RB to look at as "THE" hero at RB, "THE" star at RB, but if I had the choice of one great running back who gets the vast majority of the carries, or three great running backs who share the carries equally, I prefer having the situation with three great backs sharing the carries equally. Put it this way: let's say you had a pro football team that was such an impressive franchise, or in such an impressive city, or whatever, that you got the three greatest QB's in the NFL begging to play for your franchise for pennies, and you also got the three greatest RBs in the NFL begging to play for your franchise for pennies. What would you do with that situation? I personally would choose one QB to be "THE" QB, regardless of the fact that all three of my QBs were the best three QBs in the NFL. With the RB situation, on the other hand, I would rotate the carries between all three RBs equally. Of course, this all assumes that KW, CS, and RM are all equally great. Last year, I don't think Hester became our primary RB simply because we felt that it's better to have one guy be "THE" RB -- I think the reason Hester became our primary RB because he was head-and-shoulders above the rest of the backs in the opinion of his coaching staff.
I think Hester became the primary RB because he was the most dependable RB we had. I don't think anyone would say Hester was the most talented back on the team. Hester is a big brusier. Lots of strength to push the line, keeps running after contact, tons of heart. This year we could really use that to take the pressure off our QB position. My only fear is that 6 - 7 snaps a game won't be enough to get any of them into a type of rythem or build up their confidence.
I thought that KW is the bigger out of the backs and had the power and RM is the shake and bake guy with CS being the well rounded guy.
They are all roughly the same size. Murphy is the tallest, but the lightest. Williams and Scott are both 25 pound heavier, but Scott is the bruiser who makes a hole. Williams looks for a hole and if it's there, he's gone.
CS is bigger than KW. KW is the get to the edge guy but has trouble finding the holes inside as of now, CS is pound it inside and bounce it out RB, and RM is a pretty balanceb inside and outside RB. CS and RM are also better at catching out of the backfield IMO.
They all are actually pretty good at catching the ball. Keiland and Richard are better playmakers with the ball in their hands. I can see Scott getting the bulk of the carries because he is the RB most similar to Hester. We need a consistent guy who will bruise it out and run through the holes, that'll open it up for KW, RM, and Trindon. Seemed like Scott gets tackled pretty easily at the legs, well maybe just compared to Hester :thumb:.
No, but I think folks would say that Hester was the most complete back on the team. RP was the most talented QB on the team last year. PJ will be the most talented CB on the team next year. Neither will be playing, at least not at first (PJ). Talent is raw material, some more pure than others. Hard work, guided by a craftsman, turns it into a weapon. Hester was the most complete and useful weapon in the RB quiver last year. I didn't believe that in preseason and was one of the ones wringing my hands. I still find black feathers under my dinner table... :hihi:
Myself. He just has an energy about him anytime he hits the field. He's just as amped up about a special teams hit as he is a run out of the backfield. I expect him to have a breakout season.
Here are the RBs who the LSU coaches decided to give the carries to during the last two seasons: 2007 Rushing Attempts 225 -- Hester 70 -- Williams 53 -- Holliday 45 -- Scott 35 -- Murphy 2006 Rushing Attempts 94 -- Hester 76 -- Williams 74 -- Broussard 57 -- Vincent 46 -- Scott 14 -- Holliday Note that Hester was trusted with the most carries in 2006 and 2007. Also note that behind Hester, Williams was trusted with the most carries in 2006 and 2007 Does that mean Williams will be trusted with the most carries in 2008? Here are the LSU RBs were were trusted with the most carries per season since 1995. Look how high Hester ranked for his 2007 season: 248 -- Faulk (1996) 230 -- Toefield (2001) 229 -- Faulk (1998) 225 -- Hester (2007) 205 -- Faulk (1997) 193 -- Davis (2002) 187 -- Addai (2005) 174 -- Faulk (1995) 170 -- Mealey (1999) 165 -- Toefield (2000) 154 -- Vincent (2003) 142 -- Broussard (2004) 137 -- Cleveland (1995) 123 -- Davis (2000) 121 -- Vincent (2005) 116 -- Toefield (2002) 112 -- Mealey (1997) 114 -- Addai (2003) 103 -- Mealey (1996) 101 -- Addai (2004) 94 -- Hester (2006) 85 -- Broussard (2003) 80 -- Addai (2002) 78 -- Carey (2003) 76 -- Williams (2006) 76 -- Vincent (2004) 75 -- Davis (2001) 74 -- Broussard (2006) Below are the stats showing which LSU running backs were trusted with the most carries since the 1995 season. The way Hester got the vast majority of the carries last year is similar to how we trusted Toefield in 2001, Mealey in 1999, and Faulk in 1998, 1997, and 1996. In all the other seasons, we pretty much evenly split carries between at least two running backs. The year we spread the carries around the most was 2006 (Les Mile's second season at LSU), which was the only time since at least 1995 that no single LSU RB carried for more than 100 carries in the season. 2007 Rushing Attempts 225 -- Hester 70 -- Williams 53 -- Holliday 45 -- Scott 35 -- Murphy 2006 Rushing Attempts 94 -- Hester 76 -- Williams 74 -- Broussard 57 -- Vincent 46 -- Scott 14 -- Holliday 2005 Rushing Attempts 187 -- Addai 121 -- Vincent 59 -- Carey 25 -- Hester 2004 Rushing Attempts 142 -- Broussard 101 -- Addai 76 -- Vincent 28 -- Carey 20 -- Hester 2003 Rushing Attempts 154 -- Vincent 114 -- Addai 85 -- Broussard 78 -- Carey 41 -- Barrington Edwards 2002 Rushing Attempts 193 -- Davis 116 -- Toefield 80 -- Addai 17 -- Carey 2001 Rushing Attempts 230 -- Toefield 75 -- Davis 15 -- Derron Parquet 8 -- Addai 2000 Rushing Attempts 165 -- Toefield 123 -- Davis 25 -- Banks 11 -- Derron Parquet 1999 Rushing Attempts 170 -- Mealey 64 -- Davis 2 -- Banks 1998 Rushing Attempts 229 -- Faulk 68 -- Mealey 15 -- Banks 10 -- Cleveland 1997 Rushing Attempts 205 -- Faulk 112 -- Mealey 72 -- Collins 13 -- Banks 12 -- Cleveland 1996 Rushing Attempts 248 -- Faulk 103 -- Mealey 37 -- Cleveland 1995 Rushing Attempts 174 -- Faulk 137 -- Cleveland 21 -- Derrick Beavers 20 -- Robert Toomer
Faulk and Hilliard were unbelievable with the ball. I like Murphy a lot, but he doesn't hold a candle to those two. I, personally, think he'll be the primary ball carrier. Although it seems to me, that Miles likes to spread the wealth quite a bit. We may see more balance, as far as carries, this year. Just my opinion. As long as they're winning, I don't care if Holiday is the primary ball carrier. :hihi:
