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Just how good is Steve Slaton?

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gtexan02

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He ranks 10th in the NFL in total yards rushing, despite having by far the fewest carries.

He ranks 2nd in the NFL in yards per carry, of all running backs with at least 100 carries.

He ranks 10th in the NFL in touchdowns.

Out of all backs with at least 100 carries (over 40), Slaton is one of only 14 to have never lost a fumble.

He ranks 12th in the NFL among running backs with 34 receptions.


This guy is a stud. I'm changing my Green jersey to a Slaton if I can figure out how
 
THe thing about Slaton is that he'll get stuffed at the line every other rush, but then at least once a drive he'll rip off something big. I'd be interested to see what his rush yards for each play were on MNF...
 
buddyboy said:
THe thing about Slaton is that he'll get stuffed at the line every other rush, but then at least once a drive he'll rip off something big. I'd be interested to see what his rush yards for each play were on MNF...
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I used to think that as well,b ut watching last night, i realized its not true at all.

In between the 10's, he's good for at least 4 or 5 a carry, plus some big ones. When he's running at the goaline, he does get stuffed.

I saw him fight for yards almost every single time he touched the ball.
 
it's kinda surprising, but I think Slaton, Chris Johnson, and Thomas Jones should be the RB's from the AFC in the Pro Bowl. The "elite" backs have either not done much, or have been injured.
 
buddyboy said:
THe thing about Slaton is that he'll get stuffed at the line every other rush, but then at least once a drive he'll rip off something big. I'd be interested to see what his rush yards for each play were on MNF...
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You can thank Myers for that......Myers got owned last night, our right side of the line (C, RG) sucks.

Oh BTW, what do I think of Slaton.......he's the best rookie RB out of the draft (even better than Chris Johnson...yeah I said it) and to think I cussed this team when they passed on Rashard Mendenhall.
 
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Slaton is awesome! I think he's got a lot of talent but I think some props needs to be given to Gibbs as well. His teams have consistently been ranked near the top in rushing while he's been coaching and its starting to come true here. We talked a lot about it before the season and we're seeing slaton have some monster games. don't confuse that with me taking anything away from slaton though, he's doing so so well.

I like how he's making good reads and is a lot tougher runner than anyone gave him credit for. One play last night (near the beginning of the game) he got hit about 2 yards upfield and kept churning his legs and twisting and gained another 7 yards or so.

I think a big reason why he gets stuffed at the goalline is b/c our OL is undersized. Jacksonville has a big DL, we have a small OL... it's no surprise we get physically dominated when we try to play power running straight up the middle. That's not our OL's cup of tea and we'll lose that battle more than we'll win it.

As for the Clinton Portis comparison... completely agree. As much as I like slaton, I know we can still find similar backs each draft, we just have to keep on plugging them in. I would love to trade him for a Champ Bailey like Denver did. :)

Portis was a 2nd rounder, did he play in denver only two years? If the raiders franchise Asomogha again, or did they already? Maybe next year we can trade slaton for him. That'd be a comperable Portis/Bailey trade and the Raiders are just that crazy they may do it. :drool:
 
When drafted, Slaton reminded me a lot of a poor man's Reggie Bush.

Turns out that Bush is a poor man's Steve Slaton if anything, and frankly Slaton is much better between the tackles.

The guy has just tremendous balance, can change directions on a dime, and has first class burst. When he hits the seam, he can go from 0 to 60 like a cheetah. Just really great burst.

He kind of reminds me of Dominck Davis, but with more quickness and burst, homerun speed, much better balance, and better overall field vision.

Clearly and quite easily the best RB we have had in our existence.

My only concern is durability since he is a smallish feature back.
 
gtexan02 said:
I noticed two amazing runs, both off Briesel
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I've noticed that most of Steve's successful runs come off the left side, but maybe Myers' suckage is dragging Briesel down. Our center stinks...(I still remember the play in the Pittsburgh game where Chris was picked up and thrown into Slaton for a tackle..that was horrible.
 
Porky said:
When drafted, Slaton reminded me a lot of a poor man's Reggie Bush.

Turns out that Bush is a poor man's Steve Slaton if anything, and frankly Slaton is much better between the tackles.

The guy has just tremendous balance, can change directions on a dime, and has first class burst. When he hits the seam, he can go from 0 to 60 like a cheetah. Just really great burst.

He kind of reminds me of Dominck Davis, but with more quickness and burst, homerun speed, much better balance, and better overall field vision.

Clearly and quite easily the best RB we have had in our existence.

My only concern is durability since he is a smallish feature back.
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He doesn't have the power that DD had but across the board everything else is as good or better. And Slaton does have some power but DD was a bowling ball. Hopefully Slaton has a real long and productive career here.
 
Porky said:
He kind of reminds me of Dominck Davis, but with more quickness and burst, homerun speed, much better balance, and better overall field vision.
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They both start with the same key ingredient--initial burst/time to top speed. Obviously Slaton's top speed is better. I would actually say DD had just as much balance but it was displayed in his close quarters running. DD was much more likely to get you three when you had to have three, but Slaton is much more likely to exploit a good hole to the tune of 40 instead of 15. Slaton could also watch some DD film on minimizing contact with slight shifts.
 
bah007 said:
Very good.
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Between the twenties....few better...if he can stay healthy ....he has a chance to make it "best" ever.

I wouldn't trade him for twenty Reggie Bushes.


However, he has to have a soul mate bruiser power back to go with him. No matter how much you love him...that isn't going to change.

He's burning up his nine NFL lives very time he touches the ball more than fifteen times a game. The only question is how long we go befor we lock the power back up ?

And his blocking could improve.
 
threetoedpete said:
Between the twenties....few better...if he can stay healthy ....he has a chance to make it "best" ever.

I wouldn't trade him for twenty Reggie Bushes.


However, he has to have a soul mate bruiser power back to go with him. No matter how much you love him...that isn't going to change.

He's burning up his nine NFL lives very time he touches the ball more than fifteen times a game. The only question is how long we go befor we lock the power back up ?

And his blocking could improve.
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Most teams are switching to the dual back system.

I don't see any reason why we should not get a bruiser to pair with Slaton. By putting a combo like that together we would get better results, plus extend both of thier careers by not forcing them to tangle a full load every single game.
 
threetoedpete said:
Between the twenties....few better...if he can stay healthy ....he has a chance to make it "best" ever.

I wouldn't trade him for twenty Reggie Bushes.


However, he has to have a soul mate bruiser power back to go with him. No matter how much you love him...that isn't going to change.

He's burning up his nine NFL lives very time he touches the ball more than fifteen times a game. The only question is how long we go befor we lock the power back up ?

And his blocking could improve.
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Marion Barber , Brandon Jacobs , and Michael Turner were all drafted in the 4th round . I think the thing that can't be timed is desire and power backs slip because they run a 4.6 something . This is a good thing for us being we're in the market for one .
 
Steve Slaton is a mini-Emmitt Smith to me. While he doesn't have the upper leg strength to move a pile as well as Emmitt, he's also faster than Smith ever was.

Each game keeps cementing that picture in my mind. Give Slaton a chance to glimpse the "second level" and he'll be a 1400-yd. back. He still needs time to mature in the ZBS and make the single-cut a little quicker, but he's "getting there" fast.
 
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We are just scratching the surface in how good he makes this team. Once we get him involved in the passing game our offense will get scarier. All we need at this point is a C and/or a short yardage back.

Slaton turns goatpiss into gasoline.
 
disaacks3 said:
Steve Slaton is a mini-Emmitt Smith to me. While he doesn't have the upper leg strength to move a pile as well as Emmitt, he's also faster than Smith ever was.

Each game keeps cementing that picture in my mind. Give Slaton a chance to glimpse the "second level" and he'll be a 1400-yd. back. He still needs time to mature in the ZBS and make the single-cut a little quicker, but he's "getting there" fast.
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I think he is more comparable to the long time Bengal RB, James Brooks. Brooks was about his size and was a dual threat back who could hurt you in the passing game as well as the running game. ES was better with his off-hand and has better balance than Slaton does imo.
 
Vinny said:
ES was better with his off-hand and has better balance than Slaton does imo.
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I am surprised that every RB coach in the league doesn't have his guys watching tape of Emmitt (a) using his off hand and (b) making slight shifts to minimize contact.
 
bah007 said:
Most teams are switching to the dual back system.

I don't see any reason why we should not get a bruiser to pair with Slaton. By putting a combo like that together we would get better results, plus extend both of thier careers by not forcing them to tangle a full load every single game.
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Have Okam line up at FB and Leach as the TB...that should get you two yards when you need it.
 
with all of the flattering posts about Slaton in this thread, perhaps Kubiak can take a non #1 round rb and make him productive in his offense?

Denver is doing it with Peyon Hillis too, so maybe Kubes is on to something.
 
Silver Oak said:
with all of the flattering posts about Slaton in this thread, perhaps Kubiak can take a non #1 round rb and make him productive in his offense?

Denver is doing it with Peyon Hillis too, so maybe Kubes is on to something.
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whats a non #1 back mean? Slaton was a starter last year and the year before and this year he won the starting job...plus he was a first day pick.
 
I think that once we get past this whole "rookie season" thing Slaton is going to settle down some more (he's clearly already done so to some extent) and get just a little more patient with plays like we saw last night and then I expect him to bounce it outside from time to time. All he's going to have to do is do that a couple of times and sprint to the corner and those interiors will get a little less crowded. Then I expect he'll learn to hesitate for just a moment if he doesn't see a hole where it's supposed to be and then pop through the first crease he sees. His quickness is impressive but it's going to get even more impressive when he gets some experience to go with that talent.

Of course the downside is he won't be surprising too many people after busting out 1,400 yards this year (which is where I think he's heading). He's on some film now and people are planning to stop him but that's fine. It just opens up opportunities elsewhere.
 
Vinny said:
whats a non #1 back mean? Slaton was a starter last year and the year before and this year he won the starting job...plus he was a first day pick.
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I suppose what I was getting at was the flack that Kubiak has taken for remarks I never heard him make, but which are him plugging any back into our system and making it work.

Many on here have argued the need for a "round 1" pick of a rb, and my point is that might not be necessary.
 
Vinny said:
whats a non #1 back mean? Slaton was a starter last year and the year before and this year he won the starting job...plus he was a first day pick.
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Ummm just what round did you think he was picked ? remember first day is only two rounds now and we did not have a second round pick ! But i do think he is becoming a fine ball handler and is comparable to tony dorsett in his style of running .
 
For anyone interested...

First Quarter

First Drive:
2nd and 10 at HST 43 (14:06) S.Slaton left tackle pushed ob at JAX 42 for 15 yards (R.Mathis).
1st and 10 at JAX 42 (13:35) S.Slaton up the middle to JAX 35 for 7 yards (R.Nelson; B.Williams).
2nd and 3 at JAX 35 (12:46) S.Slaton right end to JAX 31 for 4 yards (C.Ingram).

Third Drive (Second Drive INT):
1st and 10 at JAX 48 (9:32) S.Slaton right tackle to JAX 35 for 13 yards (G.Sensabaugh).
1st and 10 at JAX 35 (8:53) S.Slaton right tackle to JAX 34 for 1 yard (J.Henderson).
2nd and 10 at JAX 20 (7:20) S.Slaton right tackle to JAX 20 for no gain (B.Williams).

Fourth Drive:
3rd and 25 at JAX 43 (3:05) S.Rosenfels pass short left to S.Slaton to JAX 37 for 6 yards (Q.Groves).

Second Quarter

Fifth Drive:
2nd and 4 at 50 (8:51) S.Slaton left end to JAX 43 for 7 yards (R.Meier, J.Henderson).
2nd and 10 at JAX 43 (7:55) S.Slaton left tackle to JAX 43 for no gain (D.Smith).

Sixth Drive:
1st and 10 at HST 24 (3:02) S.Slaton right tackle to HST 27 for 3 yards (P.Spicer).
1st and 10 at JAX 25 (1:52) S.Rosenfels pass short middle to S.Slaton to JAX 21 for 4 yards (T.McDaniel; D.Harvey).

Half

Seventh Drive:
1st and 10 at JAX 38 (12:06) S.Slaton left tackle to JAX 37 for 1 yard (D.Smith).
2nd and 9 at JAX 37 (11:33) S.Slaton up the middle to JAX 40 for -3 yards (R.Hayward).

Eighth Drive:
1st and 15 at JAX 47 (3:28) S.Rosenfels pass short middle to S.Slaton pushed ob at JAX 1 for 46 yards (B.Williams).
1st and 1 at JAX 1 (2:52) S.Slaton right tackle to JAX 3 for -2 yards (G.Sensabaugh).
2nd and 3 at JAX 3 (2:15) S.Slaton right tackle to JAX 1 for 2 yards (M.Peterson; J.Henderson).
3rd and 1 at JAX 1 (1:30) S.Slaton right tackle to JAX 2 for -1 yards (R.Hayward).

Fourth Quarter

Ninth Drive:
1st and 10 at HST 5 (12:14) S.Slaton up the middle to HST 8 for 3 yards (M.Peterson).
1st and 10 at HST 19 (10:52) S.Slaton left tackle to HST 26 for 7 yards (M.Peterson).
2nd and 3 at HST 26 (10:09) S.Slaton left guard to HST 28 for 2 yards (T.McDaniel).
3rd and 1 at HST 28 (9:26) S.Slaton right guard to 50 for 22 yards (G.Sensabaugh; R.Nelson).
3rd and 15 at JAX 43 (6:20) (Shotgun) S.Slaton up the middle to JAX 41 for 2 yards (J.Durant).

Tenth Drive:
1st and 7 at JAX 7 (4:39) S.Slaton right guard for 7 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Eleventh Drive:
1st and 10 at JAX 40 (2:11) S.Slaton right guard for 40 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

I don't know if any of you find this interesting, but I sure did. Here are his rush sequences:

(Rushing yards) 15, 7, 4, 13, 1, 0, 7, 0, 3, 1, -3, -2, 2, -1, 3, 7, 2, 22, 2, 7, 40
(This is not including pass catches)
Final Stat Line: 21 Carries, 130 Yards, 6.2 AVG, 2 TDs

On his four rushes for more than 10 yards:
Off left tackle for 15, Right tackle for 13, Right guard for 22, and Right guard for 40.

I really didn't realize that Slaton starget getting stuffed in the second and third quarters.

1st quarter: 7 rushes for 46 yards
2nd quarter: 3 rushes for 10 yards
3rd quarter: 5 rushes for -3 yards
4th quarter: 7 rushes for 83 yards
 
Here is a problem with how good he is. Can management be thinking Slaton can be used as main RB and fill around him with Free Agency? That road has not been so good for FA for Texans. We should be able to easily get a good power back in 3rd or 4th next year.

I would like us to go after a premium CB in free agency and not select the "maybe there is one more year in the tank" type player we have gone after. A starter at CB with Bennett, Reeves, Molden and DR would definitely help the D. We then use top 4 picks to select a DE, FS & a real one not the "our DBs are interchangeable", power back and a OLB. I am very satisfied with our young guns in Adibi, Ryans and Diles. We need to bring in one more as a back up. 4th round and a 7th rounder starting offers much hope.

I really want a QB but doubt the quality available to us in most rounds and think if we strengthen other areas, Schaub and Sage can hold it down. This allows team to get most out of these two before deciding on letting Sage escape to FA and/or Schaub getting a $10 million bonus in March 2010. I think the combo can hold us together and put team in playoffs in 2009, but hope we have fall back position in 2010. I just can't be too optimistic for these two guys based on what I've seen.
 
buddyboy said:
THe thing about Slaton is that he'll get stuffed at the line every other rush, but then at least once a drive he'll rip off something big. I'd be interested to see what his rush yards for each play were on MNF...
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That sounds like Barry Sanders to me.
 
Vinny said:
whats a non #1 back mean? Slaton was a starter last year and the year before and this year he won the starting job...plus he was a first day pick.
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I could've swore we got him on the second day. I could be wrong though.
 
El Tejano said:
I could've swore we got him on the second day. I could be wrong though.
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The third round used to be on the first day. I still refer to 3rd rounders as day 1 picks. It's hard to teach old dogs new tricks, and I'm one of them. :)
 
Slaton just ran across the world before I could finish this sentence. J/K

Really though, I think we found the guy to put our offense around. When a guy goes to the coach and says I want the ball, what he is really saying is 'Coach I can win this game for us, put the load on my shoulders.' We've never had that guy before. I know he is just a rookie but he is a rookie that spoke up. That's leadership.

I know AJ is the man but when your running back can step up like that, you don't need your WR to be the guy you build your offense around. You need him to be the consistent stud that he is. The saying is to build your offense from the inside out. Slaton gives us that opportunity. Anything we can do to prolong or enhance the career of Slaton is a good move in my book. I think if we can do this, we will become a better team and push for a playoff spot next season for real.
 
Vinny said:
historically the first 3 rounds have been considered "first day picks" but TV shortened the first day to two rounds this last draft.
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Which was absolute bull crap and ticked me off beyond words.

Why do they have to screw every single thing in the universe up eventually?
 
badboy said:
Here is a problem with how good he is. Can management be thinking Slaton can be used as main RB and fill around him with Free Agency? That road has not been so good for FA for Texans. We should be able to easily get a good power back in 3rd or 4th next year.
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I don't think management is thinking about filling around Slaton with FA's. FA's to them are just a way of filling the gaps until they can build through the Draft. Sure, they hoped Greene, Brown, Dayne, etc... would fill in better than they have, but I don't think Smith/Kubes believed they were anything but a gap filler for a couple of years, given their ages, injury history, etc...

As for picking up a good power back in the 3rd or 4th, here's a few name to keep an eye on:

* Shonn Greene, 5'11', 235 lbs, Iowa
* Rashad Jennings, 6'1", 232 lbs, Liberty
* Keiland Williams, 5'11", 224 lbs, LSU
 
Insideop said:
I don't think management is thinking about filling around Slaton with FA's. FA's to them are just a way of filling the gaps until they can build through the Draft. Sure, they hoped Greene, Brown, Dayne, etc... would fill in better than they have, but I don't think Smith/Kubes believed they were anything but a gap filler for a couple of years, given their ages, injury history, etc...

As for picking up a good power back in the 3rd or 4th, here's a few name to keep an eye on:

* Shonn Greene, 5'11', 235 lbs, Iowa
* Rashad Jennings, 6'1", 232 lbs, Liberty
* Keiland Williams, 5'11", 224 lbs, LSU
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Hey, thanks for response. I will try to follow these guys. I did watch UT against A&M and they had a huge back that played a few minutes. I think his name was Williams and he was at least 6 foot and about 245 if I remember what was said. He may have been a TE at one point. He looked pretty good considering who other team was. Maybe worth a look in 6th or 7th. I really hope they use a 3rd or 4th to get a quality power back that can average 10 plays a games, especially in red zone.
 
threetoedpete said:
However, he has to have a soul mate bruiser power back to go with him. No matter how much you love him...that isn't going to change.
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A bruiser back would be great, but I think lots of folks miss the point thinking that needs to be a Brandon Jacobs type. Maurice Jones Drew for instance would be a perfect compliment in this system. Still provides a a home run threat and yet is a powerful runner with a great ability in short yardage situations--plus blocks well.
 
infantrycak said:
A bruiser back would be great, but I think lots of folks miss the point thinking that needs to be a Brandon Jacobs type. Maurice Jones Drew for instance would be a perfect compliment in this system. Still provides a a home run threat and yet is a powerful runner with a great ability in short yardage situations--plus blocks well.
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And drafted in the third round.
 
HJam72 said:
It's first round, not first day.
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It isn't even that. This is just an internet canard. One of Kubiak's first moves was to try to trade into the first round for a RB--DeAngelo Williams. Thankfully that didn't work out or we would have lost Demeco and OD.
 
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