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Lack of a blocking Fullback?
- Thread starter Goldeagle
- Start date
wwffan99tx
Waterboy
Didn't they just sign him though? Don't think he has been blocking for Gore all year.
Vinny
shiny happy fan
I run the 49ers.com message board also (khari and I)...so I've followed them all year. He is Gore's primary blocking back. I got some scuttlebutt about Norris in the preseason and I think his release was related to some off field issues...I won't go any further than that since I don't have proof...just some word of mouth scuttlebutt - may not be true...but I think it is...jmo (and a little gossip).
Scooter
Funky
i've never been a big fan of norris, but cook couldnt block a 9 year old and isnt anywhere near the receiver he was touted as being. i really think norris would make an impact in our running game for the better. i dont think he could save it, but it would move us into "adequate" status because the front 5 is still the cause of our problems. i'd love more than anything to get a mike alstott or a tony richardson (most underrated player in the league IMO) or lorenzo neal to legitimize the texans running game. heck, if we're lucky, kyle johnson might escape denver ... if he came here it'd be one of the texans' biggest acquisitions ... kyle johnson is an absolute stud at fullback and in his prime at 27 years old.
PapaL
Loose Screw
Alstott has never really been a FB. Just a big slow RB that is slotted as a FB. Yes I know he goes to pro-bowl as a FB; but he is really a RB. The other two guys I would take in a heart beat. They always have 1000+ yard backs behind them.
Scooter
Funky
alstott is a much better blocker than folks give him credit for. he is (maybe was, i stopped watching the bucs a year or two ago) arguably the most complete player at the position, but because he's had so much success as a short yardage guy, he gets overlooked as a blocker. the opposite is true for guys like lorenzo neal & mack strong who are such great blockers that folks forget that they're pretty good running the ball also. any of which i'd absolutely love to have in a texans uniform. again, the one i'm personally eyeballing is kyle johnson.
mean mark8
Waterboy
At the beginning of last year, ESPN magazine had Norris rated as one of the 5 best FBs in the league. Since I think he only carried the ball maybe 5 times in his career as a Texan, they must have thought something of him for some other reason.
Anyone also remember how Jerome Mathis used to say he'd follow Wells on every return to run to daylight? I wonder how/where he'll run without him. Was Wells really a worse back than any of the 3 lame backs we have today?
Anyone also remember how Jerome Mathis used to say he'd follow Wells on every return to run to daylight? I wonder how/where he'll run without him. Was Wells really a worse back than any of the 3 lame backs we have today?
Scooter
Funky
yes ... by a large margin. wells was a bigger guy who tried to dance and only had a 3.1 YPC for his career. maybe he was decent on special teams (which would mostly go unnoticed), but as a back he was pretty bad.
I'd second this. Personally, I'm certain an off-field issue led to his cut.
eriadoc
Texan-American
Norris has been one of the better blocking FBs in the league for a few years now and he certainly would have been a better contributor than Cook has been to this point, IMO. However, I am not privy to any knowledge of off-the-field issues or rumors thereof. So my comments come prepackaged with several grains of salt 
Edit to add - I would really like to see the team go out and get a real blocking fullback in the mold of Lorenzo Neal or Mack Strong or Tony Richardson.
Edit to add - I would really like to see the team go out and get a real blocking fullback in the mold of Lorenzo Neal or Mack Strong or Tony Richardson.
...very good point because a FB has to catch in Kubiak's system, so what about the 'blocking' part of it? JMO, but we need a blocking FB more than we need another 'dink and dunk' receiver...bottom line, I'd think we need a FB that can do both very well...
Goldeagle
Veteran
mexican_texan
Furry Tractors
No. There's a reason he's a FA.
I think coachdent said that the ZBS shouldn't use a FB.
I think so, but what do I know.
12Gage
Noob
I have watched the Bucs for the past decade, Alstott has never been a good blocker. No way no how. Great short yardage back, never been a blocker.
i LIKED WELLS. He didn't have all the 'peaks and valleys' that are RB's have now--showed up with consistent play week in/week out--avg was just above 3 but at least we got it every week
HJam72
Hall of Fame
No pass catching FB, like Cook, is going to block like Norris and the run game will suffer for it, although I can't say how much of it is that exactly. Norris should still be starting for this team, if we're going to use a fullback. I wouldn't mind at all using two TEs and no fullback.
audibles
Practice Squad
Vinny, as a long-time lurker, I have always respected your opinion. However, I work with Moran's wife, and it would be interesting to know what type of "off-field" issue could have related to his release. I'm not saying you should say anything on the board, because this isn't the right place. I just find it interesting because Mrs. Moran hasn't said anything that would leave me to believe that this was an issue.
I was so disappointed when he was released -- not because I work with his wife, but because I always thought he was the kind of blue-collar, arse-kicker that this team doesn't have nearly enough of. And in a massive understatement, the first 11 games have done nothing to change my opinion.
audibles
Practice Squad
Why, yessir, it is. Nice to see the recognition.