Domanick Davis 1,000 yards or not

[Hervoyel]

I always felt that one of Davis stengths was that he broke tackles very well. He's not going to plow over people but he doesn't go down easily. I remember the first time he caught any attention it was for throwing Jason Taylor off of him versus Miami. Davis gets yards after contact (which is not exactly the same as breaking tackles but it's in the same neighborhood I believe) and that's hard to dispute unless you're only looking at 2004 when he's been in a yearlong funk from two fumble filled games at the start of the season.

[DatTexBoy]

my many feelings of this season.

[Herdof]

Domanick Davis is a good running back. Pro Bowl-ability? Not likely, but probable. Starting quality? Oh yes indeed. Remember this is his sophmore year, it's not unusual for second year players to have a slump. I think the early goings and injuries were his slump, now he's working out of it and working well for us. Plus, he's still young. He most likely won't be a consistent 1,500 yarder, but he's a multidimensional threat who puts up great RB numbers in either rushing or receiving. He's a TD magnet.

I DO think that we should pick up a running back for precaution measures, but not with a high draft pick if we go the draft route. Trust me, the RBs WILL slip in this draft. That could kill his confidence and development. I want a power/hammer 'back personally. For those tough, close yardages a la Duce Staley/Jerome Bettis RB tandem.

The size thing is fooey because he's 5'9" and 216 - good enough size to play. Now if he was 5'8", 190 or something then I can see why you'd say that. If you're 200+ pounds at running back I think it's safe to assume that you're not too light for the position.

I still consider DD the franchise RB.

[Fiddy]

Originally Posted by Herdof

He's a TD magnet.

TD magnet??? I think that has more to do with being the best available running back on our roster then having a nose for the endzone.

Davis' TDs -
vs. San Diego
2 yard TD run
1 yard TD run
vs. Minnesota
1 yard TD run
vs. Denver
1 yard TD run
1 yard TD run
vs. Indy
1 yard TD run
1 yard TD run
vs. GB
6 yard TD catch
vs. Tenn
41 yard TD run (and everyone knows the controversy about that one)
vs. NYJ
2 yard TD run
vs. Indy
15 yard TD run

Avg length of rushing TDs - 6.6 yards
Minus the one the Titans gave him - 2.8 yards

In comparsion, Julius Jones on his 6 TDs is averaging 12.2 yards a TD run...

I hardly think Davis is a magnet for the endzone...

[Cincinnatikid]

Originally Posted by wiley2002

Boy some people don't know when to do a little more research. Going back to what you said on RBs, DD is fine. We just need some people on the o-line to block a little more up field. Even AJ has gotten involved up field holding off the secondary which has been a big part of some of DD's best runs. Plus you have to understand that the Steelers have been in the league A LOT longer than the Texans. We will be like them one day. You just have to be patient.

Longer has nothing to do with a running back. DD has gotten the blocks the last couple weeks. He has gotten yards, but you gotta do something when you arent getting the best blocking. Barry Sanders had so many negative yards because of bad blocking. You cant blame the whole thing on the line, he has to do something after he gets past the line, and he doesnt have too many long runs in his two years. He isnt a probable pro bowler, he is an average guy, and they should not settle for that if they can improve on it.

[AndreJ]

Originally Posted by Cincinnatikid

Longer has nothing to do with a running back. DD has gotten the blocks the last couple weeks. He has gotten yards, but you gotta do something when you arent getting the best blocking. Barry Sanders had so many negative yards because of bad blocking. You cant blame the whole thing on the line, he has to do something after he gets past the line, and he doesnt have too many long runs in his two years. He isnt a probable pro bowler, he is an average guy, and they should not settle for that if they can improve on it.

Ok first of all this is Barry Sanders you are talking about, HE'S THE MAN, Barry could get yards with a middle school O-line for christs sakes, he is one in a lifetime. No back in the world with the exception of Barry and a few others could get positive yards with a horrible O-Line. Back to Davis now, he's no st@r, but when he gets blocks and gets into the open field he makes things happen. He doesn't exactly break tackles but for some reason or the other he's hard as hell to tackle once he gets pass the D-Line and a few LB's keep in mind this is only his second year and he's coming off a few injuries.

Another positive that i like about him is that he can also catch the ball, he might have better hands then some of receivers in this league and that is a huge plus.

[Fiddy]

Originally Posted by AndreJ

He doesn't exactly break tackles but for some reason or the other he's hard as hell to tackle once he gets pass the D-Line and a few LB's keep in mind this is only his second year and he's coming off a few injuries.

Davis hardly does anything when he gets to the linebackers. If Davis did things to get by LBs, his yards per carry average would be higher then 3.6...

Originally Posted by AndreJ

Another positive that i like about him is that he can also catch the ball, he might have better hands then some of receivers in this league and that is a huge plus.

Ronnie Brown has the best hands on the Auburn team so its not like it is difficult to find RBs who can catch.

[AndreJ]

Well if u take a look back on the first half of the season there were very few times where Davis recieved the handoff and didn't have the Defense already in the backfield or at the line staring him down. In recent weeks he has made plays on linebackers and safties. Im not saying hes the best back in the world, but when you can rush over 1,000 yrds with the kind of line the Texans have had you have got some skill.

[TexansTrueFan]

Originally Posted by Fiddy

Davis hardly does anything when he gets to the linebackers. If Davis did things to get by LBs, his yards per carry average would be higher then 3.6...

Ronnie Brown has the best hands on the Auburn team so its not like it is difficult to find RBs who can catch.

well Fiddy i have been listening to all your comments about Davis and i see where your coming from. And infact the same thing is happening with carr, oh and gaffney has not had big numbers this year either, ok sorry payne not enough sacks time to go, lets just fire them all because noone on the team has performed extremely well this year. So is it time to cut all the players and start over ????? NO because DAVIS (is a good back), Carr is a good QB. I'm just saying if we must talk bad than talk bad about the whole team, and ya dont think the O-line has anything to do with Davis's troulbles this season ? Barry Sanders couldnt even run behind the line we have had lately !

[Wolf]

Originally Posted by TexansTrueFan

well Fiddy i have been listening to all your comments about Davis and i see where your coming from. And infact the same thing is happening with carr, oh and gaffney has not had big numbers this year either, ok sorry payne not enough sacks time to go, lets just fire them all because noone on the team has performed extremely well this year. So is it time to cut all the players and start over ????? NO because DAVIS (is a good back), Carr is a good QB. I'm just saying if we must talk bad than talk bad about the whole team, and ya dont think the O-line has anything to do with Davis's troulbles this season ? Barry Sanders couldnt even run behind the line we have had lately !

I won't speak for Fiddy, but my take is Davis is a solid back,but when he has gotten to the open field, I really haven't seen him make someone miss. All the special backs in the league have a knack for this. I like the way Davis runs. he runs hard and breaks tackles, but he just doesn't have that other gear that the other backs have. This is not a knock on Davis , He is using the talent that he has.

[TexansTrueFan]

when i have seen him catch a pass in the flats i have seen him make people miss and get another 5-10 yards, now you dont see him break one open for a TD very often, but with his running ability and catching ability i think that makes him a better back than most. I think Davis isthe long term answer here, and dont think we need to waste a draft pick on another RB. Just my opinion though !

[Vinny]

If we don't get another RB via FA or the draft then I will be extremely frustrated as a fan. No way we can be a serious playoff contender with Davis as our feature back. You can't rely on him to be healthy and he is not the kind of back that makes defenses want to deny him the ball.

[Wolf]

someone can prove me wrong,but when I see "keys to stopping" the Texans. I don't recall one being "stop Davis" I don't mean that in a bad way. It is that teams know that the more times it is in Davis' hands the less it will be in Aj,Gaffney or whoever and the defense doesn't have to put a special defender on Davis. That is why the Colts can play their Cover 2 and drop the MLB back and not worry that Davis is going to break one. Davis is a wonderful weapon when it is 3rd and short.. He can get the 3 yards and he can catch.

[shinerbock_texas]

Originally Posted by Vinny

If we don't get another RB via FA or the draft then I will be extremely frustrated as a fan. No way we can be a serious playoff contender with Davis as our feature back. You can't rely on him to be healthy and he is not the kind of back that makes defenses want to deny him the ball.

I wouldn't feel to bad going into next year with Davis as the featured tailback, but what would have me furious is if we can not get anyone else to help with the depth at the position. Right now after Davis, you have the "Gimp' Hollings and Wells, who has performed well as a 3rd stringer (but thats all he can every hope to be). The medicore depth at the position is awful.

[Vinny]

I can see it now. We go into the playoffs and Davis is nicked up and rolls to another 2.9 ypc when he isn't 100%. I'm out on that program.

Davis is a fine complimentary back but he isn't a top lead back in this league. Heck, he wasn't even the lead back in College.

[TexansTrueFan]

well vinny i respect your opinion, but i personally think Davis is the back of the future for the texans !

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by TexansTrueFan

well vinny i respect your opinion, but i personally think Davis is the back of the future for the texans !

Dom will be here for many years and there is nothing wrong with having Davis as your favorite player. I think he is the future for the Texans too...just as a 3rd down back ala Derrick Blaylock, Kevin Faulk and Moe Williams.

[Hervoyel]

It's a mixed bag. In order for the Texans to threaten you with the passing game Davis has got to be effective running the ball. His ability to catch the ball out of the backfield is a godo thing but I think often when you see that he got a lot of yards that way it's a sign that the opposing defense was able to force that into happening.

I think Davis can be effective when he's getting good blocking but the Texans simply have to use him properly and they have to recognize the difference between Davis having a "good" day and Davis having a "big" day.

A good day for Davis is a hundred plus on the ground, spread over the entire game, and a few catches out of the backfield at opportune moments.

A big day for Davis is anywhere from 60 to a hundred plus yards on the ground and he's our leading reciever or one of them. Any time he's 60 or 70+ percent of the offense then we've been dictated into that by the defense and we're not doing what we need to do to win the game.

I'm not calling him the answer to our rushing needs but I think he'll serve for now if the Texans will get their pass protection act together and stop allowing defenses to put the entire game in his hands. As one weapon in a larger set of weapons Davis is useful and teams have had success with less running back than we have right now. The rest of it's got to be there though. When we let defenses make us one dimensional we lose.

You look at our secondary and it's tempting to get mad because they allow so many completions but that's an incomplete picture. Without a pass rush that's effective you can't fairly judge what's going on back there. Without taking into account the number of times linebackers get beat in coverage you can't fairly judge what's going on back there.

You look at our passing game and you see nothing but dink passes to Davis and it's tempting to get mad because AJ & Co. aren't getting the ball but without considering the amount of time Carr has or how good the coverage is on those recievers it's hard to tell what's going on with that. Truthfully you can't even be sure that Carr is even looking at all of them before opting to toss it to Davis.

Until I see the Texans offense fire on all cylinders I'm not prepared to say that Davis is a problem. I believe the biggest problem is the way Davis is utilized by David Carr.

I'm not however addressing Davis' problem with being unable to play when banged up. That's a completely different can of worms there and a legitimate reason I think to look at another back. He's a different runner when he's got some aches and pains.

[Beastlyman2003]

Cincinatikid, you dont have a clue what your talking about. first, he does break quite a few tackles. Pretty much all armtackles are broken. second, you put some sort of emphasis on chris brown being a 4th round pick but if you looked into your facts, so is DD. No more speaking from you.

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by Hervoyel

Until I see the Texans offense fire on all cylinders I'm not prepared to say that Davis is a problem. I believe the biggest problem is the way Davis is utilized by David Carr.

I don't consider Davis a "problem". I think if we put Moe Williams, Derrick Blaylock, or Kevin Faulk into our offense they would churn out the same numbers as Dom. What I would like to see is Dom being used more like the other NFL teams use players like this (but we can't do that right now....hence me wanting to draft or pick up another FA back).