Jonathan Wells or Domanick Davis

[Tayton]

I find it interesting that fans are willing to take the ball from Davis after a few bad games and give it to Wells who has had a few bad years. That being said I'll let the coaches make the decisions and complain if they screw them up.

[Blake]

Originally Posted by Tayton

I find it interesting that fans are willing to take the ball from Davis after a few bad games and give it to Wells who has had a few bad years. That being said I'll let the coaches make the decisions and complain if they screw them up.

This isnt about whos had better years. Its about who is getting the job done. The NFL has no place for loyalty. You bring your A game and fight for the position. Do you not agree?

Wells deserves a start. Davis will have to show that he is the better back if he wants his position back. And trust me, if Wells starts, Davis will still get some carries.

[Nawzer]

If Domanick can't produce with or without his injuries there is no reason to start him. Wells had done a good job and he's been solid for us. Until Domanick is fully healthy he can back up Wells.

[El Tejano]

I would love to see us do a split back formation.

[Keldar]

Davis is > Hollings;
Hollings is > Wells

Wells' production so far has little to do with his talent. He still gets tackled when touched.

To me it's all about Davis'/Hollings' health, the O-line's performance on that given day, and then we can talk ability.

[texan279]

Far too many variables to look at stats over 2 or three games and call Wells the better back. To me Wells will never be a starting caliber back in the NFL. The run blocking has come together over the last few games and have made holes that I could have run through. Wells still does not break near as many tackles as Davis. Don't know if it is because of the fumbles or the nagging injuries but Davis is not in very good form right now. If its the injuries then I am very concerned that he is just not very durable. He's missed alot of time over the last few years. If its the fumbles, then I think he will get over it and have a break out game soon.

Davis' longest run of the year is 10 yards, so he' not breaking that many tackles. Davis has fumbled 4 times in 4 games while Wells fumbled once in 3 games. Wells average yard per carry is 3.7 while Davis' average is 2.9. Davis has 233 yards on 80 carries while Wells has 218 yards on 59 carries. If you look at the top rushers in the NFL DAvis is 16th and Wells is right behind him at 17th, with 21 less carries. I am not saying that Wells is a better back, I am saying he is getting the job done right now.

[texan279]

Wells' production so far has little to do with his talent. He still gets tackled when touched

Are you saying he has no talent? Are you saying that anyone can play RB for our team and put up Well's like numbers? Look what he did against the Raiders D line. If Wells gets taclked when touched, I guess Davis will go down if you just look at him because Wells is averaging almost 1 yard more a carry than Davis.

[Panther5407]

I still say that you make Davis fight for the starting job, thats what worked last year. The competition that he faced ended up driving him and I think you put that as part of the gameplan. Kinda tell him that no one is a for sure starter and if you arn't producing then you arn't playing. He is ok by me, but I've never been sold on Davis. My theory is anyone can have a great year, a great back will be good day in and day out for years to come.

[Keldar]

Originally Posted by texan279

Are you saying he has no talent? Are you saying that anyone can play RB for our team and put up Well's like numbers?

If the line opens holes, anyone can run through them. If the line contains to the inside, anyone can run around the end. What shows me talent is what you do when people are puttin' hats on you, what you do in the open field, and such. So yes, I would say that any journeyman RB in the league would get Well's like numbers in the same play executions that have occurred for Well's.

If Wells gets taclked when touched, I guess Davis will go down if you just look at him because Wells is averaging almost 1 yard more a carry than Davis.

Again, I think that this is not because of Wells' talent, but because the O-line had a good day and Davis would have had even more success under the exact same plays and circumstances. This is qualified by saying Davis must not fumble in these circumstances.

[chuckm]

I'm not sure which is the better back but I know that lately I'm holding my breath when DD runs (waiting on a fumble) and I'm not when Wells runs ....

[texan279]

If the line opens holes, anyone can run through them. If the line contains to the inside, anyone can run around the end. What shows me talent is what you do when people are puttin' hats on you, what you do in the open field, and such. So yes, I would say that any journeyman RB in the league would get Well's like numbers in the same play executions that have occurred for Well's.

Well apparently Davis has let you down on both of those. When defenders put a hat on him he puts the ball on the ground and he has done nothing in the open field because his longest run this season is 10 yards.

[Keldar]

Originally Posted by texan279

Well apparently Davis has let you down on both of those. When defenders put a hat on him he puts the ball on the ground and he has done nothing in the open field because his longest run this season is 10 yards.

You know, you have a point. I may be living in last year when it comes to Davis' abilities.

That being said, I still think Davis is a better back than Wells. I look at Wells and see a dude that is a 230+ pound monster who runs with the tenacity of a 115 pound horse jockey.

[DominatorDavis]

If Wells is better then Dominick then why hasn't the coaching staff noticed? Why isn't Dominick 2nd on the depth chart and Wells 1st?

I *can* admit this. In games 2, 3, and 4 - I was biting my nails when Dominick carried the ball worried about fumbles. But it is a phase. It is not as though it cant be fixed. And it will either be fixed or he'll be on the bench with Wells getting the lions share of the carries.

Having said that, you'll have a difficult time convincing me that Wells is a better back by stating that Dominick only has a 10 yard run this year. On the whole Davis is a better receiver, more explosive, is able to get the last few tough yards at the end of a run, and is more versatile then Wells is. There are times where I see Wells let up - go soft into a hole and tip toe through traffic rather then just grit it out, take the hit, and get the tough extra yards.

It is disenchanting at best.

One thing for sure is AJ is getting more passes to him with Wells in there and it has forced Carr to cut back on the number of check downs in the flat. With Wells in there - it has enabled our down field passing game to come to life. That has been an advantage that I have seen.

Anyhoo, we'll see what happens against Jacksonville with Dominick healthy.

[thegr8fan]

first let me say that before this year I didn't think Wells could run his way through a pee-wee league football teams D-line without getting tackled, and falling BACKWARDS doing so. I think this year he has moved up to Jr High school D-line ability now, but he will still fall backwards while getting tackled. Davis always FALLS FORWARDS.

And this debate about who is the starter, Davis or Wells is actually semi-insane. IF Davis isn't ready to start then they will bring in HOLLINGS. If Davis loses the starting job it will be to HOLLINGS. If BOTH Davis AND Hollings are injured and can't play then Wells will be the starter. But that will be a rarity.

I am more than glad that Wells has improved to the point where I am thinking I MIGHT have been wrong and he can actually play and produce in the NFL. But he still doesn't have the 'field vision' to hit the holes created by the line. I honestly can't say he would even be considered a 'power runner' due to his inability to punch it through for a TD on a short yardage to the endzone situation.

Glad he is there and improving but I don't think Hollings OR Davis are very concerned about losing thier jobs to Wells, IMHO.

[Blake]

Originally Posted by DominatorDavis

If Wells is better then Dominick then why hasn't the coaching staff noticed? Why isn't Dominick 2nd on the depth chart and Wells 1st?

I wonder why the pats didnt have Brady as 1st string when Bledsoe was with them? Didnt the coaching staff get a good look at them at practice?

Who knows why they are still starting. The fact is that Brady didnt turn the ball over, and made good plays.

Same with Wells over Domanick right now.

[TheOgre]

Originally Posted by DC_ROCK

I wonder why the pats didnt have Brady as 1st string when Bledsoe was with them? Didnt the coaching staff get a good look at them at practice?

I bet Bledsoe threw a pretty ball in practice. He seems like one of those guys that needs the immoveable o-line and he would be okay.

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by DC_ROCK

I wonder why the pats didnt have Brady as 1st string when Bledsoe was with them? Didnt the coaching staff get a good look at them at practice?

Bledsoe was coming off a 4000 yd year and Brady was a rookie. Brady would have had to be phenominally better in practice to unseat Bledsoe at that point.

[Blake]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

Bledsoe was coming off a 4000 yd year and Brady was a rookie. Brady would have had to be phenominally better in practice to unseat Bledsoe at that point.

Actually it was his second year in the league. This is his 5th year in the NFL.

My point is that Brady came into the game and the pats never looked back.
What would have happened if the Pats put Bledsoe back in the pocket?


But this isnt about Brady and Beldsoe. This is about Davis doing horrible this year, and Wells doing good.

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by thegr8fan

first let me say that before this year I didn't think Wells could run his way through a pee-wee league football teams D-line without getting tackled, and falling BACKWARDS doing so. I think this year he has moved up to Jr High school D-line ability now, but he will still fall backwards while getting tackled. Davis always FALLS FORWARDS.

And this debate about who is the starter, Davis or Wells is actually semi-insane. IF Davis isn't ready to start then they will bring in HOLLINGS. If Davis loses the starting job it will be to HOLLINGS. If BOTH Davis AND Hollings are injured and can't play then Wells will be the starter. But that will be a rarity.

I am more than glad that Wells has improved to the point where I am thinking I MIGHT have been wrong and he can actually play and produce in the NFL. But he still doesn't have the 'field vision' to hit the holes created by the line. I honestly can't say he would even be considered a 'power runner' due to his inability to punch it through for a TD on a short yardage to the endzone situation.

Glad he is there and improving but I don't think Hollings OR Davis are very concerned about losing thier jobs to Wells, IMHO.

Wells does have a maddening habit of turning his back and backing into the line. I guess it's his semi-spin move. I feel a bit like you when it comes to Hollings. He is the real X factor here and it looks like we are bringing him along really slowly and taking no chances. I think that Davis is clearly the best back on our roster if you look at all the games and the entirety of their production.

All I know is we have 3 RB's and no player that is clearly head and shoulders above his reserve. We saw a few exciting glimpses of Hollings, Davis has been good when healthy, and Wells is finally awake. I'm not counting any of these guys out. In a league where Rueben Droughns and Priest Holmes can make it big after 3-4 years on the bench, I will be patient with all our young backs.

[HJam72]

I really suspect that if DD keeps starting, we will be crushed this year and that he will be back next year, only to get hurt half-way through the season. We need to go with the guy who's playing better right now. DD hasn't just had a few bad games. He's had 6 of them, because we've played 6 games in which he has done nothing for this team. He has averaged below 3 yds. per carry and fumbled way too much when in there. The rest of the time, Wells has run for a higher avg (and held on to the ball), whille DD stayed on the sideline. What DD deserves right now is a chance to get a few carries in every game. We can't just forget about him, but starting him and forgetting Wells right now is just wrong. It's just dumb to continue on and let a guy blow as many or more games than he basically won for us last year, because he probably will if he keeps getting spoon fed the ball.

I don't even know that we need a new RB, because, between these 3 guys, somebody will usually be getting it done, at least well enough. Right now, Wells should start.

On the last play of the last game, Wells breaks one for a first down and, knowing that his team just won the game, he slides to a stop to avoid any possibility of fumbling. People, one more 20 yard run or so, even if it had been that one and he just kept going for a while, and a lot of this, "When is DD coming back?" kind of stuff wouldn't even be asked right now. Wells is getting the job done. Some of us are looking at his stats and saying, "Yeah, he's done the job, but he still sucks." Last year is over. It's way over. The only thing feeding this belief that Wells hasn't improved is the coaches putting DD back in there and stopping Wells from proving you wrong. It's almost like you guys are saying, "Yeah, he hit the ball 440 ft. and that's a homerun in any park, but I still don't like that swing. Yeah, that's an ugly swing. Oh, and make sure we limit his at bats, because I don't want to see that swing anymore."