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Slaton as a Slot Receiver

BattleRedToro

BattleRedToro

Thread Killer
I was thinking with all of the Texans depth at RB and lack of depth at WR, could they move Slaton to WR, specifically a slot receiver?

For those that remember, Eric Metcalf was a very successful running back to slot receiver conversion for the Atlanta Falcons back in 1995, and he and Steve Slaton have similar builds.

Of course this would all depend on Slaton's health. The big question, has Slaton fully recovered from his neck injury, has yet to be answered.
 
I like you're thinking.

Slaton has talent, but he struggles with his vision when running the ball IMO.

Maybe if they use him in the slot and they get him the ball in space while on the run he can do some damage.

If they could use slaton like that in more of a utility role I think he'd all of a sudden become a much more valuable commodity.
 
Rey said:
I like you're thinking.

Slaton has talent, but he struggles with his vision when running the ball IMO.

Maybe if they use him in the slot and they get him the ball in space while on the run he can do some damage.

If they could use slaton like that in more of a utility role I think he'd all of a sudden become a much more valuable commodity.
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Cracking idea, it would open up all sorts of different looks pre-snaps as well, and you could imagine the end around would always have to be accounted for by the defense.
 
He'd still need to be asked to mix it up and run the ball........or that advantage/threat would be neutralized quickly.
 
Fulltime slot--no. I don't see the generally fluid movement to run the complete route tree at an NFL level. As a part of a package occassionally, sure.
 
I'm more comfortable with Casey doing this out of the FB spot than SS. Casey opens up many more options from a regular set without tipping anything off by offensive player substitutions.
 
Texans have been talking about adding new wrinkles to the offense. Perhaps this is one of them and why Steve stays with the team.
 
ArlingtonTexan said:
Fulltime slot--no. I don't see the generally fluid movement to run the complete route tree at an NFL level. As a part of a package occassionally, sure.
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Do you see Slaton as less fluid than Metcalf was?

(This is a genuine question. Unfortunately, it is difficult to inflect tone in writing, like one can in speech.)
 
BattleRedToro said:
Do you see Slaton as less fluid than Metcalf was?

(This is a genuine question. Unfortunately, it is difficult to inflect tone in writing, like one can in speech.)
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I see them as very similar, I just don't think Metcalf was all that great to start with and I got off of the SS bandwagon in his rookie year. Metcalf was a better P/KR returner but both have/had fumbling problems and both are/were inconsistent in their production.
 
BattleRedToro said:
Do you see Slaton as less fluid than Metcalf was?

(This is a genuine question. Unfortunately, it is difficult to inflect tone in writing, like one can in speech.)
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Yes. Metcalf was very quick and could cut on a dime at near full speed. Had great lateral movement skills also. McCluster at KC style wise reminds me of Metcalf a bunch. (he has been moved to RB more than RB/WR combo he was drafted as though)
 
Slaton still has to hang onto the football, and I have zero confidence he can do that.
 
Marcus said:
Slaton still has to hang onto the football, and I have zero confidence he can do that.
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Slaton's fumble problems were caused by or exacerbated by a neck injury that caused numbness in his arm.

Peyton Manning had neck surgery this year and his slow recovery that might keep him out of the starting lineup is because the neck injury is causing him to have weakness in his arm.

If or when each of these players fully recovers from their respective surgeries then they should return to preinjury form. In otherwords, less fumbling for Slaton and Manning well be a pain in my neck.
 
BattleRedToro said:
Slaton's fumble problems were caused by or exacerbated by a neck injury that caused numbness in his arm.

Peyton Manning had neck surgery this year and his slow recovery that might keep him out of the starting lineup is because the neck injury is causing him to have weakness in his arm.

If or when each of these players fully recovers from their respective surgeries then they should return to preinjury form. In otherwords, less fumbling for Slaton and Manning well be a pain in my neck.
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Slaton had fumbling problems in college, also. Much was made of his ability to hold onto the ball better in his rookie season. This makes me believe that his neck injury may have excacerbated a tendency to fumble when healthy.
 
DocBar said:
Slaton had fumbling problems in college, also. Much was made of his ability to hold onto the ball better in his rookie season. This makes me believe that his neck injury may have excacerbated a tendency to fumble when healthy.
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I also remember hearing that some of his fumbling problems were attributable to the way he held the ball. I'm not sure but it might have been Spencer Tillman that mentioned that he had needed to change the way he held the ball, and that he did.
 
BattleRedToro said:
I also remember hearing that some of his fumbling problems were attributable to the way he held the ball. I'm not sure but it might have been Slencer Tillman that mentioned that he had needed to change the way he held the ball, and that he did.
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That rings a bell for me, too. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Maybe being used as was envisioned when we drafted him will help. He won't be asked to carry the running game.
 
Marcus said:
Slaton still has to hang onto the football, and I have zero confidence he can do that.
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Winning/production cures all.

Would you take 7 fumbles if Slaton gained 1500 yards from scrimmage, 8 touchdowns?

Those are Bradshaw's stats & many consider him to be a top 10 back, or at least worth drafting in the first round of a FFL.

Steve Slaton had one good year, one bad year, & one year where he was overshadowed by Arian Foster (the Best Running Back in the League). Personally I think it would be foolish to dump Slaton when Tate is a bigger unknown. Especially when Tate's role will be what we know SS can already do. Third down back, what he was originally brought in for. It's not like we're spending millions/year on him.

If I'm the Texans, I would have Slaton & Ward on the block, I'll take the best deal offered. I'd try to get Odbonnaya on the PS, or search the waiver wires for a better option.

Bottom line, if you think Slaton is worthless, cut him. No one is going to give you anything for a worthless RB. If you think he still provides value to your team, then use it while you can.




& Slaton doesn't look like a receiver... I've yet to see him run anything that looks like a passing route.
 
thunderkyss said:
Winning/production cures all.

Would you take 7 fumbles if Slaton gained 1500 yards from scrimmage, 8 touchdowns?
Those are Bradshaw's stats & many consider him to be a top 10 back, or at least worth drafting in the first round of a FFL.

Steve Slaton had one good year, one bad year, & one year where he was overshadowed by Arian Foster (the Best Running Back in the League). Personally I think it would be foolish to dump Slaton when Tate is a bigger unknown. Especially when Tate's role will be what we know SS can already do. Third down back, what he was originally brought in for. It's not like we're spending millions/year on him.

If I'm the Texans, I would have Slaton & Ward on the block, I'll take the best deal offered. I'd try to get Odbonnaya on the PS, or search the waiver wires for a better option.

Bottom line, if you think Slaton is worthless, cut him. No one is going to give you anything for a worthless RB. If you think he still provides value to your team, then use it while you can.




& Slaton doesn't look like a receiver... I've yet to see him run anything that looks like a passing route.
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Timing is everything. Would you take those stats for Slaton if his 7 fumbles occurred at critical times in the game and the Texans lost those seven games as a direct result?
 
DocBar said:
Timing is everything. Would you take those stats for Slaton if his 7 fumbles occurred at critical times in the game and the Texans lost those seven games as a direct result?
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Like I said, winning cures all. We fumble on the goal line, a hair from scoring six points. Do I blame Slaton because our defense couldn't stop the Lions from driving 99 yards in the other direction?

You can't control when fumbles are going to happen. It's ridiculous to say Slaton sucks because his fumbles came at critical times, but Bradshaw is the man because his didn't.
 
thunderkyss said:
Like I said, winning cures all. We fumble on the goal line, a hair from scoring six points. Do I blame Slaton because our defense couldn't stop the Lions from driving 99 yards in the other direction?

You can't control when fumbles are going to happen. It's ridiculous to say Slaton sucks because his fumbles came at critical times, but Bradshaw is the man because his didn't.
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I was giving a hypothetical situation. Besides, there is ample evidence that Slaton's fumbles usually occurred at critical moments in the game. Maybe because he recognized the situation and tried to do more that he should have such as fighting for extra yards?
So, in the given hypothetical situation, where do you stand?
BTW, it is not ridiculous say Slaton sucks because his fumbles came at horrible times. A good player finds a way to hold on to the ball at those times. A sucky player fumbles it. I couldn't care less about what Bradshaw does. His fumbles don't cost the Texans wins.
 
sakebomb said:
Why not just cut Slaton and find a true slot receiver?
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Because
  1. Foster is dealing with a nagging Hamstring
  2. The Texans routinely understate injury issues
  3. We still don't know Tate's resolve to playing in the NFL
  4. Ward is a year older
 
thunderkyss said:
Winning cures all....... I can't say it any slower.
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Whatever, tk. I don't see how fielding a player with known fumbling issues increases our chances of reaching your cure all. I typed that slowly, just for you!:whip:
 
DocBar said:
Whatever, tk. I don't see how fielding a player with known fumbling issues increases our chances of reaching your cure all. I typed that slowly, just for you!:whip:
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Do

you

think

the

Giants

Chances

of

winning

increases

or

decreases

with


Amahd


Bradshaw

who


fumbled

7

times

in

2010


?
 
thunderkyss said:
Do

you

think

the

Giants

Chances

of

winning

increases

or

decreases

with


Amahd


Bradshaw

who


fumbled

7

times

in

2010


?
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You're getting carried away with this. Bradshaw is the best option the Giants have. By all appearances, Slaton is our fourth best option, fifth best if Foster is healthy. Apparantly, the Texans staff agrees with this because they drafted Tate to be our primary running back and got Ward to be his back up. Of course, Foster came out of nowhere and had a monster season and Tate had a season ending injury in preseason. With all that, Slaton still barely found his way onto the field.
Do you think that maybe the Giants wish they had Ward back? I bet they do.
 
DocBar said:
I'm more comfortable with Casey doing this out of the FB spot than SS. Casey opens up many more options from a regular set without tipping anything off by offensive player substitutions.
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I'm looking forward to seeing a whole different side to the offensive playbook with Casey as FB now. I saw he'd motion from the FB spot to the slot position on many occassions during the pre-season and it caused some major mismatches. This should be a break out season for Casey.
 
DocBar said:
You're getting carried away with this. Bradshaw is the best option the Giants have. By all appearances, Slaton is our fourth best option, fifth best if Foster is healthy. Apparantly, the Texans staff agrees with this because they drafted Tate to be our primary running back and got Ward to be his back up. Of course, Foster came out of nowhere and had a monster season and Tate had a season ending injury in preseason. With all that, Slaton still barely found his way onto the field.
Do you think that maybe the Giants wish they had Ward back? I bet they do.
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Who do you think is a better option than Slaton? I agree with Foster Ward and Tate but do not at all about Chris Ogbonnaya if thats who is your 4th.
 
DocBar said:
You're getting carried away with this. Bradshaw is the best option the Giants have. By all appearances, Slaton is our fourth best option, fifth best if Foster is healthy. Apparantly, the Texans staff agrees with this because they drafted Tate to be our primary running back and got Ward to be his back up. Of course, Foster came out of nowhere and had a monster season and Tate had a season ending injury in preseason. With all that, Slaton still barely found his way onto the field.
Do you think that maybe the Giants wish they had Ward back? I bet they do.
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And you're getting off subject. Bradshaw is their best option, regardless of the fumbles. It wasn't an issue last season, because they were winning. If the Giants were 9-7, Bradshaw may very well have been the Giants scapegoat the way Slaton was. (not that Slaton got 1500 yards from scrimmage).

The difference is that Bradshaw did gain 1500 yards, 8 TDs, on 323 touches from scrimmage when Slaton only gained 850 yards, 7 TDs on 175 touches. roughly half the touches, equal fumbles, relatively same amount of TDs.....

Now if Slaton has fixed his fumbling problem (which appears to be the case), Slaton is a football player on par with Bradshaw.

So let's say Slaton gets us his 2009 production, 850 yards, 7 TDs, and 4 fumbles..... the Texans end up 13-3 you wouldn't want to keep him over the aging Ward?
 
Ndevine7 said:
Who do you think is a better option than Slaton? I agree with Foster Ward and Tate but do not at all about Chris Ogbonnaya if thats who is your 4th.
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I would go with obgyn on the basis that he hasn't shown a lot of fumblitis. I'm not a big fan of Obgyn but I like SS even less right now.
 
DocBar said:
I would go with obgyn on the basis that he hasn't shown a lot of fumblitis. I'm not a big fan of Obgyn but I like SS even less right now.
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SS brings a different skillset and has proven that he can be a great back in the NFL.

OB is just a poor man's Arian Foster/Derrick Ward. Same exact player with far less talent
 
The1ApplePie said:
SS brings a different skillset and has proven that he can be a great back in the NFL.

OB is just a poor man's Arian Foster/Derrick Ward. Same exact player with far less talent
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SS had one year with impressive stats. Lost in the stat shett is the fact that he got those stats largely because he could occassionaly bust a big run after having 15 or so for little or negative yardage. As far as liking him less than Obgyn right now, that's just my opinion.
 
The1ApplePie said:
SS brings a different skillset and has proven that he can be a great back in the NFL.

OB is just a poor man's Arian Foster/Derrick Ward. Same exact player with far less talent
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It looks like you got the last laugh on that one.
 
sakebomb said:
Why not just cut Slaton and find a true slot receiver?
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Arian-Foster-Tedy-Bruschi-Hamstring.jpg
 
DocBar said:
It's just you.
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keep an eye on that one. the wr always seems to have to work to bring it in on the slant. lord knows peyton has kept many drives alive with that throw but we seem to struggle with it even with the best wr in the league
 
Slaton's "bad year, 2009" was compounded by Chris Myers' high ankle sprain in training camp which lingered through most of the season and Casey Studdard having an awful season. Slaton along with other backs that year spent a good amount of time being hit in the back field.

A healthy Chris Myers and addition of Wade Smith made a drastic change in the run blocking in 2010. Many times last year by the time Foster / Ward made it to the OL, they were 2 - 3 yards past the line of scrimmage.

I wondered about moving Slaton to the slot mid-season last year.
 
DocBar said:
SS had one year with impressive stats. Lost in the stat shett is the fact that he got those stats largely because he could occassionaly bust a big run after having 15 or so for little or negative yardage. As far as liking him less than Obgyn right now, that's just my opinion.
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Well, I won't disagree with this, but I will say that while he was not as consistent on positive yardage as guys like Foster, Ward, and Tate, I believe he was far better than Dominick Davis/Williams for instance.

By the way, I just looked at some stats and Slaton had 13 20+ yarders and 5 40+ yarders in his 2008 1282 yd. season. Foster had 12 20+ yarders and 3 40+ yarders in his 2010 1616 yd. season. Obviously, Foster was more consistent, and of course had more overall rushing yardage, but I'm not sure whether that's really a significant difference in "consistency," especially considering that I'm comparing Slaton to a rushing title winner.

Slaton: http://www.nfl.com/player/steveslaton/945/careerstats

Foster: http://www.nfl.com/player/arianfoster/79555/careerstats

Looking back, I'm still impressed with what Slaton did in 2008, even if he is the 4th best back on the team now (or fifth, as is your opinion). I'm fine with trading him too, but I'll have fond memories.

Regardless, come 09-11, I will be ecstatic to watch Foster, Ward, and Tate gash the Colts Defense all day! :fans:
 
HJam72 said:
Looking back, I'm still impressed with what Slaton did in 2008, even if he is the 4th best back on the team now (or fifth, as is your opinion). I'm fine with trading him too, but I'll have fond memories.
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Well, he isn't the fifth best anymore, even if that was his opinion. They cut Ogbonnaya.:whip:
 
BattleRedToro said:
Well, he isn't the fifth best anymore, even if that was his opinion. They cut Ogbonnaya.:whip:
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In post 32, I owned up to that. That's what I meant when I told Apple Pie he got the last laugh. I wasn't a huge Ogbyn fan either. With all the other weapons we have on the team it will probably be a moot point anyway.
 
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