Drafting Gore's Replacement

[P-52]

Gores replacement is already on the roster....Kendall
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[rudyZ]

If all fails, I will suit up for the veteran minimum.
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[adamq]

[rudyZ]

[adamq]

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[rudyZ]

You look at it backward. Don't rule out a player because of size, but because of the traits caused by his size. If you don't make the intellectual effort to analyze what traits he brings to the game, that's how you risk missing out on a great player. That's why I simply asked you to elaborate (several times) instead of just falling back on the size issue, as if it was a be-all and end-all type of deal.

You cited exaggerated examples of size in various sports. Brian Boyle, a center for the Rangers, was considered too tall to play an offense role in the NHL. Too tall, not agile enough. There simply aren't any 6'7" centers. So he was overlooked by many teams. But the Rangers gave him a chance, and he's a decent player for them. You mentioned 6' centers in basketball. I know you exaggerated for emphasis, but there was a time when it was unthinkable to have a center under 7'. It was all the rage. When I was a basketball fan, I was a fan of the Raptors (Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady in the same backcourt!). They had a 6'9" center whom people considered undersized. Anthonio Davis. What did it matter that he was so small? He defended other centers well. He blocked, he rebounded, ran the floor, scored. But he was overlooked. Coming out of college, he was forced to go play in greece and italy before a NBA would give him a chance. But he was a damn good player.

When you take the Dunn comparison, keep in mind I compared him to LaMike in size, not to Gore. I never said I looked at James to be a feature back, just that his size alone shouldn't disqualify him from consideration. Dunn spent the great majority of his career in two-backs systems. He shared the backfield in Tampa with Mike Alstott, and shared it in Atlanta with TJ Duckett and others. In this thread, I don't think anyone discussed James being a starter, only as a back-up/change of pace back. But I maintain, his size still shouldn't disqualify him. What should disqualify him are durability concerns DUE TO HIS SIZE, and the ability to run inside. Those are arguments. But mentioning size alone, that's a little lazy.

Oh, and about Dunn... you mentioned his 5 worst seasons... what about 1026, 1106, 1133, 1140 and 1416? 3 of those coming at age 29 or older. For a small guy who should be fragile and unable to take a pounding, that's weird. He should have broken down and lost effectiveness with time, no?

Now, Reggie Bush... there's a marked difference here. We're talking about the top overall pick with a huge amount of money tied to it, at the time. You have to look for the perfect prospect at that point, and nitpick about anything possible. Casserly mentioned size as a criteria, sure. But he could have used other terms. Reggie wasn't a great inside runner either, and that's a concern. If you get a one-dimensional runner (outside runner) first overall, you're not doing your team any favor. Using size is a lazy, easy cop out when trying to justify dismissing a runningback. There are reasons behind the size that are totally reasonable. Mentioning size alone proves Casserly didn't do his job well and deserved to be fired. I'm pretty sure it is universally agreed that Casserly is terrible. He did make the right call with Bush, but not for the right reasons.
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[DirtyJersey9er]

Running Back is one of the few positions where you could draft someone and they would make an impact year 1 so really drafting a replacement for Gore can be done at any time.

I have faith Kendall Hunter can be the guy right away but if the team decides to hedge their bets and Marcus Lattimore, for example, falls to one of the 3rd round picks and I am Harbaalke I jump on the pick.

But I'd say the year he is off the roster we could easily use a pick in that draft on a replacement as RBs from this draft class showed a lot. I mean late first round is like the money spot for rookie RBs anyway and I think we will be picking there a lot in the coming years.

Guys picked in what I call the RB sweet spot since 2000(last 10 picks of round 1 and first 10 of round 2):
Michael Bennett
Willis McGahee
Steven Jackson
DeAngelo Williams
Joseph Addai
Chris Johnson
Javhid Best
Doug Martin
David Wilson

That is a decent number, I only included pro-bowlers so there are names like DeShaun Foster who I didn't include. Bennett is the only one who wasn't consistant as a starter.(Addai also but he was a starter for awhile and wasn't awful)

And most of them played well year 1 so think we can wait a year or two. Plus I think Gore's carries go down since we also have the option of running Kaepernick now. That will give Gore an extra year or two.
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