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Die Hard Red Skins Fan Makes Slaton Cheap Trade Bait

CloakNNNdagger

CloakNNNdagger

Hall of Fame
Entertaining if nothing else. Does he actually make a case for trading...........or keeping Slaton?


Now I know I'm typically the one to rail against trading for veteran players, but if the 'price is right' I'm always interested. Steve Slaton has fallen out of favor in Houston and is now 4th on their depth chart. Not only does this mean that Slaton is available, but that his price is likely to be at the bare minimum.

Case for Making the Trade:

Slaton is still very young, he will play next year at the age of 25

Shouldn't cost too much in a trade, great buy low candidate

Slaton is a very good 'one-cut' back, who can excel in the zone blocking system

He's different from Torain and Williams, good change of pace type of back

He has good speed and can break out some long gains

Very good at catching the ball out of the backfield, in 2009 in 11 games he had 44 catches

Ran for nearly 1,300 yards as a rookie, at 4.8 ypc.

Not only does he know the ZBS and WC offense, but Kyle Shanahan was his O.C. in '08 and '09.

Cheaper than most free agents, only makes $1.2 million this season

Reasons for Concern:

Only under contract for one more season

While he has done it, Slaton isn't a 25 carry a game type of back if Torain goes down

Would cost the Redskins resources via a trade, might not be much, but there isn't a lot to spare

Rushing numbers went down and he had some fumbling issues in 2009

Very new to playing special teams, won't make the impact most backup running backs are expected to make

Has limited kickoff return experience and didn't look good doing it


Analysis and a trade proposal after the jump:

Analysis:

I think Slaton's positives far outweigh his negatives. The only real concern for me is his contract status, though that is part of the reason he is so cheap. The Redskins might be able to extend him cheaply for a year or two, to help protect their investment. As for the rest of the negatives, I don't see them as much of a hurdle. The Redskins were going to use resources on a FA running back or a late round draft pick anyways, so that makes it basically a wash (though they would be under contract for longer).

His numbers going down in 2009 is worrisome, but at the same time it seemed a little overblown as a concern. I think teams focused on him more that season, and as a whole the Texans running game struggled, as their top three backs all averaged under 4.0 ypc. Also, while his rushing totals faltered, he was very good at catching the ball out of the backfield and still was a significant contributor.

I think Slaton, with his speed and quick cutting ability, is the perfect fit for the Redskins system (as was proven in 2008), and could excel in more of a change of pace role. If we try to keep his carries in the 10-15 times a game category, he should be more effective. I am also a big fan of pass catching ability. Although Keiland Williams did a good job in the passing game, Slaton has more home run ability and brings a completely different threat to a defense. Knowing Kyle Shanahan's system is a big plus in my book, and also a primary reason why I think this could become reality.

The Deal:

Given Slaton's perceived low value, I would propose the Redskins to use a similar frame work as the Adam Carriker trade last year. Instead of trading away a late round pick for Slaton, I'd propose the following deal to the Texans: Our 5th round pick from the Saints, number 152 *(note pick numbers will change slightly as there will likely be compensation picks earlier in the draft that will push these down a couple of spots) for their 6th rounder, number 173. and Slaton. The Redskins would essentially lose 21 (plus a few more based on the number of comp. picks at the end of round 5) spots of draft positioning, but gain Slaton for their troubles.

Will it be enough? Honestly it is hard to say. The Texans are very likely to move him, and while there will be a market for his services, it won't turn into a bidding war. I don't think they will get anything above a late 6th or early 7th rounder for Slaton. That would be slightly more value than the Skins deal, but not by much.

What do you think? Is Slaton worth swapping picks for?

Steve Shoup has been a Redskins fan his entire life and dreams of the day they get back to the glory days of his youth. In addition to his regular piece on Hogs Haven, you can find his daily writings at Fanspeak.com.
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Not worth it.

For that price, id rather keep him on the roster as training camp fodder and to give him the opportunity to recapture what he had a couple seasons back.

There is also the possibility of him being useful on special teams.
 
Take what you can get and run!

I think he's very close to a release, so whatever we can get through trade would be appreciated.
 
Grid said:
Not worth it.

For that price, id rather keep him on the roster as training camp fodder and to give him the opportunity to recapture what he had a couple seasons back.

There is also the possibility of him being useful on special teams.
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For that return I'd rather keep him myself .... but definately NOT for anything he might contribute on ST. Slaton last season , had to be the worst KR I have ever seen in 40 years of watching football.

Falling out of bounds was just the most obvious mistake , he also put the ball on the ground many times in attempts to catch / secure it which cost the Texans field position time and again.


Forget Slaton on ST. I dont even want to see him as a gunner on punt coverage much less returning kicks or punts again .... unless its in another uniform so the Texans can take advantage of his misque's.
 
Dude left this out of his reasons for concern...


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Meh, I'd rather keep him around if for no other reason than a warm body, rather than taking a 5th rounder for him.
 
He better hope the CBA gets signed in the next 6 weeks or else that trade is impossible. His neck injury is the #1 cause for concern and why I believe we saw a dramatic decrease in his production.
 
Ole Miss Texan said:
He better hope the CBA gets signed in the next 6 weeks or else that trade is impossible. His neck injury is the #1 cause for concern and why I believe we saw a dramatic decrease in his production.
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Thing is, Slaton was actually really productive whenever we used him. He ran for over 4.9 yards per carry, and was consistent every time he went out there.

He received over 3 carries in only 4 games, and his ypc in those games were 4.8, 4.7, 4.7, and 7.4. And no fumbles


I think the lower production was due to logjam at RB. With Foster and Ward tearing it up, there wasn't room for Slaton. People were already complaining that Foster wasn't getting enough carries. Every touch Slaton got would come from someone else
 
Señor Stan;1666207 said:
Dude left this out of his reasons for concern...


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Barrett and I took a lot of heat when we wrote this story... but, I think it is clear this is what did him in. If you re-watch the Arizona preseason game, before the hit in dispute, he was running well. I haven't seen him run well since. I think this is another example of the Texans doing a very poor job managing injured players:

Slaton Re-Injures His neck in Preseason 2010
 
dalemurphy said:
Barrett and I took a lot of heat when we wrote this story... but, I think it is clear this is what did him in. If you re-watch the Arizona preseason game, before the hit in dispute, he was running well. I haven't seen him run well since. I think this is another example of the Texans doing a very poor job managing injured players:

Slaton Re-Injures His neck in Preseason 2010
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He had 19 carries last season. He put up close to 100 yards. How is that running poorly?

Slaton was just odd man out. When your #1 guy is gaining 5 ypc and your #2 guy is picking up chunks at over 6, you dont have room for a 3rd string guy getting 4.9
 
Since we have the "FTW" combo - I can see Slaton for a 5th, but not to throw in a 6th also. They can throw in a 6th if they want him so bad (yeah, that won't happen - but there ya go)
 
I wanted Slaton to succeed as he did when he was a rookie, but now with Arian Foster as our primary running back and Ben Tate as a backup, I think we should trade Slaton away and get something rather than nothing. Its also unlikely that we can get a better offer considering Slaton's production has gone south dramatically.
 
I would trade him and get something in return for him and there will always be cuts, draft, and UDFA as well.
 
gtexan02 said:
He had 19 carries last season. He put up close to 100 yards. How is that running poorly?Slaton was just odd man out. When your #1 guy is gaining 5 ypc and your #2 guy is picking up chunks at over 6, you dont have room for a 3rd string guy getting 4.9
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That may be the most abusive use of statistical analysis that I have ever seen. Did you watch the guy play last season? He was awful. Check out some footage of him running the ball in 2008 or early in 2009, then watch him with the ball in 2010, either returning kicks, catching the ball out of the backfield, or running it. He's not the same guy. Worry less about the results of his kick returning as much as how timid and weak he ran the ball.
 
brakos82 said:
Like running out of bounds at the 1? :vincepalm:
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Hey that was an impressive return, the oppossing team never laid a finger on him!!!! What more can you ask for on a return, oh you mean when he took it to our 1 yard line. Uh never mind.......
 
dalemurphy said:
That may be the most abusive use of statistical analysis that I have ever seen. Did you watch the guy play last season? He was awful. Check out some footage of him running the ball in 2008 or early in 2009, then watch him with the ball in 2010, either returning kicks, catching the ball out of the backfield, or running it. He's not the same guy. Worry less about the results of his kick returning as much as how timid and weak he ran the ball.
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Sorry if the statistics don't jive with your bias. I realize that you put yourself out there following that arizona game, but you have to look at the numbers too.

Your words "He was awful"

Heres a breakdown of all his runs this season:
Indy - 6, 3, 2, 5, 13, 0 (average of 4.8)
Was - 5, 7, 2 (average of 4.7)
Dal - -2, 0, 16 (average of 4.7)
Oak - 3, 8, 1, 23, 2 (average of 7.4)
NYG - 3, -4 (average of -0.5)


On 19 runs, he had 8 carries of 4 yards or more.
On only 19 touches, sporadic throughout the season, he broke 3 runs of 10 yards or longer, and 1 run of 20 yards or longer. Chris Johnson had 13 runs of 20+ out of over 300+ carries, or 1 out of ever ~24 carries.
He only took a loss on 2 carries out of his 19. And those were against the Cowboys and the Giants, games in which we were beaten pretty badly. Foster only averaged 2 yards a carry against NYG.

Can you extrapolate a season's worth of data from 19 carries? No, absolutely not. Thats why Derrick Ward didn't work out in TB. But to say "he was awful" is just flat out unjustifiable. He was given very limited work time, and made good use of it.
 
I think that everyone here has a short memory and don't realize why we HAD to get Derrick Ward at around right before the start of the season. If you recall we had Foster, Slaton, Chris Henry, Jeremiah Johnson and Ben Tate. Ben Tate gets hurt, Jeremiah Johnson gets hurt and Chris Henry gets cut. That left us with Foster and Slaton.

Now we got Foster, a productive yet older Derrick Ward, realisticly a rookie who only carried like 3 or 4 times before getting injured in Ben Tate and Slaton. We want to get rid of Slaton why?

I could understand if we got a FA RB. Then maybe the writing would be on the wall for Slaton but until then....keep him til everyonelse shows you can let him go.
 
gtexan02 said:
Sorry if the statistics don't jive with your bias. I realize that you put yourself out there following that arizona game, but you have to look at the numbers too.

Your words "He was awful"

Heres a breakdown of all his runs this season:
Indy - 6, 3, 2, 5, 13, 0 (average of 4.8)
Was - 5, 7, 2 (average of 4.7)
Dal - -2, 0, 16 (average of 4.7)
Oak - 3, 8, 1, 23, 2 (average of 7.4)
NYG - 3, -4 (average of -0.5)


On 19 runs, he had 8 carries of 4 yards or more.
On only 19 touches, sporadic throughout the season, he broke 3 runs of 10 yards or longer, and 1 run of 20 yards or longer. Chris Johnson had 13 runs of 20+ out of over 300+ carries, or 1 out of ever ~24 carries.
He only took a loss on 2 carries out of his 19. And those were against the Cowboys and the Giants, games in which we were beaten pretty badly. Foster only averaged 2 yards a carry against NYG.

Can you extrapolate a season's worth of data from 19 carries? No, absolutely not. Thats why Derrick Ward didn't work out in TB. But to say "he was awful" is just flat out unjustifiable. He was given very limited work time, and made good use of it.
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+1 :fingergun:
 
In my mind, we have three backs on our roster that are head and shoulders better than slaton. If we can get an extra draft pick by trading him off Im for it. We could always use that pick to pair with another pick to trade up in a round or of course, pick up another player in the draft.

Were going to cut him eventually anyways, why not get something for him while we still can?
 
2slik4u said:
In my mind, we have three backs on our roster that are head and shoulders better than slaton. If we can get an extra draft pick by trading him off Im for it. We could always use that pick to pair with another pick to trade up in a round or of course, pick up another player in the draft.

Were going to cut him eventually anyways, why not get something for him while we still can?
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Sorry, thats with the assumption Tate will succeed over Slaton in a RBBC. I do think that Ward and Foster (of course) looked much better than Slaton did.

Just one man's opinion...
 
2slik4u said:
In my mind, we have three backs on our roster that are head and shoulders better than slaton. If we can get an extra draft pick by trading him off Im for it. We could always use that pick to pair with another pick to trade up in a round or of course, pick up another player in the draft.

Were going to cut him eventually anyways, why not get something for him while we still can?
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I agree draft, cuts, and UDFA are always an option.
 
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