Around the AFC East, Week 5 Buffalo Rumblings

by John B on Jun 19, 2009 11:00 AM EDT Comment 5 comments

T.O. will have support from his running game.

Brian of Buffalo Rumblings wraps up this edition of Around the AFC East by talking about his team's newest running back.

What kind of role do you see Dominic Rhodes playing for the Bills in 2009? (From John B)

That's easy to answer for the first three weeks of the season - he'll be playing Fred Jackson, who will be playing Marshawn Lynch while Lynch is serving a league-imposed three-game suspension. He'll get 7-8 carries per game and maybe another two catches spelling Jackson early in the season.

When Lynch returns, Rhodes' role becomes a lot more difficult to define. Lynch remains the "workhorse" runner of the group, and he's easily the player with the highest upside. Jackson is also highly valuable to the offense thanks to his vastly underrated receiving skills; in fact, the Bills worked him in as a slot receiver frequently throughout spring practices. Rhodes will see playing time, because he's a solid performer - and solid performers find their way onto the field. But Lynch and Jackson will get the bulk of the carries, so Rhodes might have to settle for spot duty, injury fill-in and an occasional kick return (spelling Leodis McKelvin) from Week 4 on.

The Lynch suspension made Rhodes a nice signing. You can never have too much depth. I'm not sure Lynch, Jackson, and Rhodes are quite Jones, Washington, and Greene, but the Bills will enter the season with the luxury of having three proven backs.

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I’m not sure Lynch, Jackson, and Rhodes are quite Jones, Washington, and Greene,

really? I think we’re better.

Marshawn is better than all of them – Jackson or Rhodes are better than Washington or Greene either way.

Thats my opinion obviously – but I really fail to see how your trio is better than ours. I like washington the most out of all your backs but think that jackson/rhodes offer more as they both can line up in the slot as needed.

yes/no?

Everyone has a photographic memory… some just don’t have film

by J2 on Jun 19, 2009 2:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I tend to agree with j2. Marshawn Lynch is a better and more complete RB than Thomas Jones and just adds more of a playmaker than Jones. Washington is a fantastic change-of-pace back, but so is Fred Jackson, who has great burst, inevitable instincts and fabolous hands. In terms of Shonn Greene, nobody really knows what he’ll turn out to, until he steps onto the ’pro’s field’, which he with good reason hasn’t done yet. Rhodes is a very, very good 3. RB to have, and could be a very efficient backup RB for many teams, I think. His experience is great to have for a – even with the Terrell Owens-signing – young Bills-team.

by BillsfanfromDenmark on Jun 19, 2009 3:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think calling Lynch a better and more complete back than Jones is fair but not by a wide margin. I mean Jones just led the conference in rushing and has proven to be a capable receiver and blocker. Lynch’s youth is definitely in his favor.

After that, you’ve lost me. In what way is Fred Jackson better than Leon Washington? Washington ran for 5 yards per carry behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league in 2007 and was a shade under 6 per carry in 2008. Leon had just 123 less rushing yards even though he had 54 fewer carries. He had twice the receptions Jackson did. Tack on his value as one of the top five kick returners in the game also. I like Jackson a lot, but Washington’s been better by every measure.

I also don’t really see how Rhodes vs. Greene is a debate right now. Sure we can’t say for sure on Greene, but Rhodes hasn’t been terribly effective in a long time. He is a good 3, but nothing more. The guy has never been a starter for any extended stretch. It’s an unknown with upside against a known mediocrity. Greene had a second round grade. I think you might be hearing crickets if you asked all the GMs with a choice of the two who among them would take Rhodes.

If I was starting a team, Lynch would probably be my first choice, but Jones, Washington, and Greene would be my second, third, and fourth selections.

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by John B on Jun 19, 2009 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Another Bills fan chiming in here. I’d say that the Bills’ trio is every bit as talented as your Jets’ are. Be careful not to sell Fred Jackson short. I wouldn’t say he’s better than any one of the three RBs that you guys have, but he’s probably a lot closer than most Jets fans realize. Jackson had 37 catches last year so I’m going to go ahead and assume that Washington didn’t actually have twice as many catches as Jackson. And while Washington is a stud kick returner, Jackson did average 16.6 yards per punt return last season.

To me, what makes the Jets backs better than Buffalo’s (aside from the obvious difference in offensive lines) is that yours are more specialized. Lynch and Jackson are very similiar players and Rhodes is just a vet who can do everything, even though he isn’t all that good at anything anymore. Opposing defenses don’t have to gameplan or react or do anything differently at all when Lynch exits and Jackson enters a game. As a Bills fan, what makes the Jets backfield intimidating isn’t that Thomas Jones is anything special or that we think Leon Washington is going to beat us or that Shonn Greene was some spectacular steal in the third round. It’s that you can march out Thomas Jones on first down and we don’t know what your going to do. And then at some point in the game you can pound Greene right up the gut behind Faneca and Mangold for a few plays in a row and bring in Leon Washington to break the big one. The versatility is what makes the group special.

by kaisertown on Jun 20, 2009 1:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs