Are we overusing Foster?

[Corrosion]

Originally Posted by Rey

Something sure does sound ludicrous.

Its PapaL .... We all know he's crazy.

[fiasco west]

Honestly I'm starting to think Tate is just as good as Foster. I'd like to see them split carries 50/50. What Tate did on fewer carries last week IMO means he should see more carries.

I know it's not all about just running the ball though. Foster is a very good receiver, much better than Tate so that probably is why he gets more carries.

But yeah....Tate is something else. He runs with a lot more power.

[Vinny]

1st of all, we've only played chumps, so Foster's carries (extrapolating them forward) are out of kilter. We won't be ahead by 20 points and playing the Beevis and Butthead of quarterbacks going forward (anyone else notice that Gabbert kinda looks like a cross between Butthead and Kirk Douglas?). Answering the thread question directly is simple....yesterday told me that we will be using Tate plenty. I thought he (Kubiak) rotated him in early and often.

[Corrosion]

Originally Posted by fiasco west

Honestly I'm starting to think Tate is just as good as Foster. I'd like to see them split carries 50/50. What Tate did on fewer carries last week IMO means he should see more carries.

I know it's not all about just running the ball though. Foster is a very good receiver, much better than Tate so that probably is why he gets more carries.

But yeah....Tate is something else. He runs with a lot more power.

Thats the difference between the two - Foster is the complete package as a RB. Not only is he elite carrying the ball , he's a fantastic blocker in the passing game and .... despite a few drops during preseason and games 1-2 , he's been a very reliable reciever who can break a big one at any time.


Tate is nowhere near Foster in blitz pickups and while a decent recieving option , he's no Foster in the open field.


They are very different backs ....

Make no mistake about it , Im not knocking Tate , hell Ive said he's as good as all but the top tier in the league but Foster is the crème de la crème .

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by Corrosion

Make no mistake about it , Im not knocking Tate , hell Ive said he's as good as all but the top tier in the league but Foster is the crème de la crème .

I agree, Foster is clearly the back I'd take if everything was equal and I had to give one up. Foster's vision and body control is elite stuff. He flows like water. Tate is electric...a great runner in his own right.

[Rey]

Regardless of the total number, I'd like to see Tate get more carries.

[Texn4life]

I think Tate's role will increase as the season goes along. If he runs like he did Sunday his play will demand that he get more carries. I also think we'll start to see Forsett in some packages sprinkled in as well. I like what he brings as a receiver out of the backfield.

[GuerillaBlack]

Originally Posted by Corrosion

I dont believe there are more than 5 other backs besides Foster that would start in front ot Tate in the NFL .... Dude is a beast.


MJD
Peterson
Frank Gore
Skittles
Ray Rice


Thats all I got .... Might be a couple others but Tate belongs in the conversation with the top RB's in the league.

Turner, McFadden, Forte, Murray, Bush, McCoy, and maybe even Richardson now. Tate is great though.

[nero THE zero]

Originally Posted by Dutchrudder

He's on pace for 432 carries and targeted for 80 passes on the year. That's too much for any runningback, regardless of how much they are paid. 70% of the carries is a lot when you have a guy like Tate right behind him, and 5 years left on Arian's deal. I'm all for getting our use out of him during his contract, but let's get the the carries down to about 50-60%, and not put him out there when the team is up by 17 points in the 4th quarter. Same goes for Andre too. Just let Forsett and Tate pound the ball, either one of those guys are just as good at running out the clock.



What? You don't think Reggie Bush is just as talented???

And Clay Matthews is on pace for 48 sacks. What he's on pace for after 2 games is wholly irrelevant.

We haven't played a good team and have played two games with large, early leads. He's not going to be carrying it 28 times when we are playing New England and Green Bay and Detroit. He'll be carrying is 15, 17 times and his carries will level out to around 300, his career average.

[NitroGSXR]

Originally Posted by Corrosion

I dont believe there are more than 5 other backs besides Foster that would start in front ot Tate in the NFL .... Dude is a beast.


MJD
Peterson
Frank Gore
Skittles
Ray Rice


Thats all I got .... Might be a couple others but Tate belongs in the conversation with the top RB's in the league.

I'm not disagreeing with you or anything. Just that people don't really think that way.

I'm trying to find it but it is either nfl.com or espn.com where they had the week two position rankings. Foster's unanimously #1 of course. Tate's sitting low at 35. I found that surprising but at the same time... I like it. Keep him on the down low.

As for overusing Foster... I would hope they don't overuse Tate. Foster's built to run but Tate's the bruiser. Brusiers tend to wear out a little faster.

[rush2112mn]

So we need to put a carry count on him and he only carries it so many times for the whole season and then shut him down for the season like the Washington Nationals have done with that pitcher they have?.....

[Dutchrudder]

Originally Posted by nero THE zero

And Clay Matthews is on pace for 48 sacks. What he's on pace for after 2 games is wholly irrelevant.

We haven't played a good team and have played two games with large, early leads. He's not going to be carrying it 28 times when we are playing New England and Green Bay and Detroit. He'll be carrying is 15, 17 times and his carries will level out to around 300, his career average.

Whoopty doo, why would any coach in their right mind send their #1 RB out there against a losing, frustrated, crappy team in the 4th quarter? They are looking to strip the ball, they are looking to lay out the player because that's the only way they get back in the game. It's not just a factor of the number of carries, but it's about giving him carries that matter, and not exposing him to potential injury during irrelevant garbage time. It's called "garbage time" for a good reason. Tate and Forsett are perfectly capable of carrying the ball during that time, but an injury to them doesn't impact the team anywhere near as much as Foster would.

[badboy]

Originally Posted by Ryan

Foster is on pace right now for well over 400 carries. He's under contract for 5 seasons, we need to protect our investment. If he gets those kind of carries for the rest of the year, we may not get anywhere close to 5 good years out of him. Plus, I think Tate demands more carries because i think he's running better right now. I know Foster will get it going and i think the best way to do that is to give him less carries. I think a 20/15 split for Foster/Tate needs to happen if we want to get the most out of this running game.

I do suspect his carries will go down naturally as we will be facing better competition over the next 5-6 weeks but I think it could be a concern moving forward.

You don't buy a work truck and worry about "down the road". You hope it lasts forever but know that ain't likely. You use it until the job is done and then mop up if needed with other tools.

[Dutchrudder]

I found this cool pic of Foster on the NFL.com site, don't know where else to put it:

[badboy]

Originally Posted by Dutchrudder

If the strategy was to run Schaub into linebackers and tackles in an effort to use up the clock, then yes I would prefer his backup do it instead.

Schaub's a smart guy, and he has control of the ball as the QB. He takes the snap, hands off or drops back and determines where to throw. If there's nothing open he can throw it away and avoid hits, Arian can't avoid a tackle in the case of running out the clock. You're just wasting Arian by having him take garbage carries in a game that is all but over. There's a good reason why they call the end of 3 score games "garbage time," it's for backup players to get some reps and take the hits, not multi-million dollar players who have already proven themselves.

You still are using Schaub to hand off to RB to eat up game and increasing risk of injury.

[Dutchrudder]

Originally Posted by badboy

You still are using Schaub to hand off to RB to eat up game and increasing risk of injury.

Can you name a single QB who has been injured during a handoff play?

[badboy]

Originally Posted by Dutchrudder

I found this cool pic of Foster on the NFL.com site, don't know where else to put it:

IIRC, that's the play where his foot slips and down he goes.

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by Ryan

Foster is on pace right now for well over 400 carries. He's under contract for 5 seasons, we need to protect our investment. If he gets those kind of carries for the rest of the year, we may not get anywhere close to 5 good years out of him. Plus, I think Tate demands more carries because i think he's running better right now. I know Foster will get it going and i think the best way to do that is to give him less carries. I think a 20/15 split for Foster/Tate needs to happen if we want to get the most out of this running game.

I do suspect his carries will go down naturally as we will be facing better competition over the next 5-6 weeks but I think it could be a concern moving forward.

Let's not forget that Foster won't be playing in game 16.

[beerlover]

Like fine tuning a race car you want to give him as much work as he can handle but he is not a machine so he should be used judiciously so he is fresh when it counts. Should save his carries for meaningful reps when game is in doubt, not to pad meaningless stat line.

[badboy]

Originally Posted by beerlover

Like fine tuning a race car you want to give him as much work as he can handle but he is not a machine so he should be used judiciously so he is fresh when it counts. Should save his carries for meaningful reps when game is in doubt, not to pad meaningless stat line.

Yep, as I said when job is done (game is in hand) you pull him. You have to give him some plays off to breathe or just as change of pace when Forsett comes in.