The importance of Arian Foster

[gtexan02]

When talking about whether or not we should sign Arian to a major long term deal, I think there are a lot of things to consider. Heres my list of reasons to pay him the big money:

1. He's only 25 years old and has only had premier back attempts for 2 seasons. He's got a lot of time left in this league

2. He accounted for 1840+ yards and 12 TDs this year in 13 games.
Thats almost 40% of our offense (372 ypg) and 1 TD per game.

3. Despite some trouble with ball security, he only turned the ball over 3 times this year. Tate had the same in many fewer carries.

4. If its a matter of money, I personally think he is more important to our team that Mario Williams, and should cost substantially less to sign

5. And finally, I think Arian is one of those guys that really serves as a face of the franchise. Despite AJ being our best and most likeable character, he isn't made for the spotlight like Foster is. Whether its from fantasy football his personal style, his personality, or whatever, Foster has that cool factor that gets national attention. He's great in interviews and I think he represents our team really well.

After what I thought was a really, really, really solid performance against the Bengals, I think Foster is a guy we want on our team long term. I'm hoping the Texans keep him around as long as possible

[Playoffs]

I don't think there's any doubt Mr. McNair will open the coffers for Arian -- outside of media pot-stirrers.

[Seasick Sailor]

I couldn't agree more.

Pay the man his money.

[Daravenator]

Foster will get the $$$$ from the Texans same as Rice will get the $$$$ from the Ravens. They say RB's aren't as important as they used to be in the "Age of Passing", and yet what else chews up the clock and controls a game?

[TdotTexas2Step]

There are going to be some people here who lean towards the "You never open your wallets for running backs."

But I don't think there's a single back out in the league right now, both first or second string, that is a better fit for our zone blocking scheme than Foster.

It's simple. Pay this man. Get another receiver. And use the draft to make defense even better.

[Hardcore Texan]

Originally Posted by gtexan02

When talking about whether or not we should sign Arian to a major long term deal, I think there are a lot of things to consider. Heres my list of reasons to pay him the big money:

1. He's only 25 years old and has only had premier back attempts for 2 seasons. He's got a lot of time left in this league

2. He accounted for 1840+ yards and 12 TDs this year in 13 games.
Thats almost 40% of our offense (372 ypg) and 1 TD per game.

3. Despite some trouble with ball security, he only turned the ball over 3 times this year. Tate had the same in many fewer carries.

4. If its a matter of money, I personally think he is more important to our team that Mario Williams, and should cost substantially less to sign

5. And finally, I think Arian is one of those guys that really serves as a face of the franchise. Despite AJ being our best and most likeable character, he isn't made for the spotlight like Foster is. Whether its from fantasy football his personal style, his personality, or whatever, Foster has that cool factor that gets national attention. He's great in interviews and I think he represents our team really well.

After what I thought was a really, really, really solid performance against the Bengals, I think Foster is a guy we want on our team long term. I'm hoping the Texans keep him around as long as possible

I agree all the way around. He is very valuable to this offense, he's one of a kind player for this scheme. You don't run across RB's like Arian Foster very often. Lock him up now, he's got a lot of good years left in him.

[NastyNate]

He accounted for 53% of our yards on Saturday and 14 points (12 actually, but let's be realistic here). What is Arian's worth and how long do we sign him? 5 years for 41 million is about where I see it with 20 guaranteed. He consistently makes plays out of nothing and is an excellent pass blocker and catcher.

PAY THAT MAN!!!

[LikeMike]

Arian played for a bargain for the past two years and never complained. There is no alternative to paying him to a longterm contract with big bucks now. And he should have at least 4-5 good years left in him so it really is a no brainer if you ask me.

[EllisUnit]

Originally Posted by LikeMike

Arian played for a bargain for the past two years and never complained. There is no alternative to paying him to a longterm contract with big bucks now. And he should have at least 4-5 good years left in him so it really is a no brainer if you ask me.

the way the guy avoids taking big hits he could easily have 6-8 good years left in him, easily.

[Marcus]

I fully understand the desire to to pay Arian the big bucks.

I just wish that I had more confidence that he would stay inspired to continue to play at a high level after getting the big bucks.

There is a certain running back that plays for the Titans that gives me pause.

[EllisUnit]

Originally Posted by Marcus

I fully understand the desire to to pay Arian the big bucks.

I just wish that I had more confidence that he would stay inspired to continue to play at a high level after getting the big bucks.

There is a certain running back that plays for the Titans that gives me pause.

CJs attitude before he got paid and fosters before he gets paid are 100% different. I dont think foster would hold out for a big contract like CJ did.

[LikeMike]

Originally Posted by Marcus

I fully understand the desire to to pay Arian the big bucks.

I just wish that I had more confidence that he would stay inspired to continue to play at a high level after getting the big bucks.

There is a certain running back that plays for the Titans that gives me pause.

Arian is a very special character... not always in a good way (though I like his alternative views), but definetly not someone who is content to sit on his butt and getting paid. Like I said, he never complained about his contract, that certain someone in Tennessee held out all training camp whining about his contract. I am pretty sure, money won`t make Arian fat and lazy...

[eriadoc]

You don't open the wallet for a mere running back. Arian Foster is no mere running back.

[Joeycharp89]

He's one of the reasons I got turned back on to the Texans last season. He's a hard working guy, with a great story of how he got to this team. He hardly complains, never puts blame on others, and it is evident that he always puts his best effort forward, even when he has a poor game.

I'd love to see Arian spend at least the majority of his hopefully long career in Houston.

[Marcus]

Originally Posted by EllisUnit

CJs attitude before he got paid and fosters before he gets paid are 100% different. I dont think foster would hold out for a big contract like CJ did.

Originally Posted by LikeMike

Arian is a very special character... not always in a good way (though I like his alternative views), but definetly not someone who is content to sit on his butt and getting paid. Like I said, he never complained about his contract, that certain someone in Tennessee held out all training camp whining about his contract. I am pretty sure, money won`t make Arian fat and lazy...

I hope both of you are right. But I think it would be wise for Rick Smith to keep that certain RB in Tennessee in mind when structuring Arian's big money contract.

And I don't think it should be an either/or situation when it comes to Arian or Mario. The idea that Mario is expendable, to me, is just ludicrous.

[Joeycharp89]

Originally Posted by Marcus

And I don't think it should be an either/or situation when it comes to Arian or Mario. The idea that Mario is expendable, to me, is just ludicrous.

It is odd that this Mario being expendable thing was brought up again. But if we *had* to choose (and I don't think we do) would you prefer to have Arian or Mario? Mario is a great, but even without him we have pretty good depth at linebacker and defensive lineman. At running back we have Tate and Ward, but I wouldn't rely too heavily on Ward for much longer, and Tate seems to have at least some drop off from Foster.

[mussop]

Remember we are Denver south and they did trade away one of the best and most productive backs in the league in Clinton Portis. And we have a very very good backup already in place that could start on most teams. Just sayin!

It's in our (Denver's) history so you have to wonder if maybe they might be thinking About what kind of value they could get for him in a trade. Would they sign him and trade him if it meant getting a top 2 or 3 player at a position like CB? Would you? I love Foster but he does have a problem holding on to the ball and Smithiak has proven they are more than capable of building a top rated offense with late round guys.

I know everyone is seeing rainbows and butterflies right now but what if next week Foster fumbles late and it cost us the game? Would that change your minds? (Break that curse in the name of Jesus) just playing devils advocate here so don't crazy on me.

I do think discussing what we could get in return for Foster is a legit conversation that shouldn't be ridiculed. However I do hope we hang on to him.

[Doppelganger]

Sign him to a cap friendly deal that pays him a low salary and a high signing bonus. That's the way you manipulate the cap. Since cap is only affected by base salary, pay him a salary of say 1 mill per year over 5 years and give him a signing bonus of say 20 mill. Spread the 20 mill this way.
Year 1: 6 mill
Year 2: 7 mill
Year 3: 4 mill
Year 4: 2 mill
Year 5: 1 mill

Throw out some big incentive bases he won't get to and make it a 20 mill guaranteed contract and I think he would be very happy with it.

And for the record, i would do a similar deal with Mario: low salary, high signing bonus.

[EllisUnit]

Originally Posted by mussop

Remember we are Denver south and they did trade away one of the best and most productive backs in the league in Clinton Portis. And we have a very very good backup already in place that could start on most teams. Just sayin!

It's in our (Denver's) history so you have to wonder if maybe they might be thinking About what kind of value they could get for him in a trade. Would they sign him and trade him if it meant getting a top 2 or 3 player at a position like CB? Would you? I love Foster but he does have a problem holding on to the ball and Smithiak has proven they are more than capable of building a top rated offense with late round guys.

I know everyone is seeing rainbows and butterflies right now but what if next week Foster fumbles late and it cost us the game? Would that change your minds? (Break that curse in the name of Jesus) just playing devils advocate here so don't crazy on me.

I do think discussing what we could get in return for Foster is a legit conversation that shouldn't be ridiculed. However I do hope we hang on to him.

If KJ gave up a game winning TD on the last play of the game with us winning by 3, would that change your mind about him ??? Prob not, Foster has fumbled 3 times in the regular season (same as Tate), and regardless of what he did the first play of the game last week he didnt give the ball away.

[mussop]

Originally Posted by EllisUnit

If KJ gave up a game winning TD on the last play of the game with us winning by 3, would that change your mind about him ??? Prob not, Foster has fumbled 3 times in the regular season (same as Tate), and regardless of what he did the first play of the game last week he didnt give the ball away.

I think you mean JJ not KJ right? And Foster fumbled twice in the cinci game. He also fumbled four weeks in a row to end the season IIRC. He was incredibly lucky to catch that first one. That could of changed the whole game.

I think you missed the whole point of my post Again I hope we bring him back but no one should be opposed to discussing a what if scenario if there is precedence. There is!