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3rd down back and pass catching rb

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Dthrill_08

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I just noticed after some research that surprisingly both Howard and Breida are not great receiving backs. Who do you guys feel will be our pass catching rb? Do we go into the season with what we already have and use someone like Perry?
 
My friend who is a die hard niners fan said Breida was not a good route runner. He is definitely a better option than Howard.
 
I think that's currently Breida's spot to lose. He has the ability to take it to the house quickly. Short yardage we may see more of Howard in there. It would be nice to see both get an opportunity on 3rd to keep the D guessing by not pigeonholing each guy to certain circumstances.
 
But he hasn't done anything spectacular on the receiving end. His longest reception is what, 30ish yards?
 
I don't see anything that concerning about Breida as a receiving back. Understand that the 49ers always used a stable of running backs and alternated out constantly, and more than one in that stable was best known for being a third down back.

I'm more concerned with finding a worthwhile running game to limit the third and longs to begin with.

Let's be honest, unless Laird is a great special teams contributor he's not gonna be on this roster. It was nice to have a guy who could just follow his blocks and execute after all we went through last year, but the dude has less lateral quickness than Kalen Ballage, whose practically a statue, and when you're a tiny guy without physical skills you need to execute at a near perfect rate (which is what Wes Welker, a much more skilled player, did to stick on the field). Laird started botching his chances late in the year. He's gone, and a guy like him should just be happy circumstances lined up for him to get to play a season in the NFL.
 
I saw a stat earlier in the offseason that per play Brieda was one of the most effective receiving backs in football, however he had limited reps due to them playing in such a committee.

He will definitely handle that role
 
Breida has the skills to be a threat out of the backfield but Howard has no presence whatsoever in the passing game.

Does Chan Gailey's offense throw to backs a great deal?

When we thought we would be running the Patriots offense a pass catching back was a bigger need.

I would love to see a Terry Kirby type threat out of the backfield.
 
The more I’m looking at the roster and Chan Gailey’s system the more I believe we will see Patrick Laird switch to a hybrid HB/FB which makes Chandler Cox expendable. Then see Gaskin or Ballage at the final HB.
 
Chan Gailey likes to run lots of WR's, and I assume the RB in those situations will be doing more pass protection than anything. So, I'd expect the person who wins that spot to be whomever is the best at pass pro. Given that we seem to be collecting a lot of potential's at the TE spot, I'd imagine we will use the TE/slot position as our release valve most of the time. If/when someone proves their RB worth as a pass catcher, we will likely add in a few routes for him such as a delayed screen.

Like @circumstances and @13marino13 have said, I suspect Breida will be given the first shot at winning that spot, and if he can become a solid pass protector, it will likely be his spot into which he can grow. With a new offense and two young QB's (Josh Rosen in year 3 and Tua a Rookie), I suspect we will start the year with a paired down playbook anyway. Those additional passes to the RB are something that can be added later as the young QB's learn the new offense.

For most of these things to work though, we really need to sort out the OL. Before we add too many wrinkle plays, we need to assure we have solid protection from this young and patchwork OL.
 
Don’t know what to think from reading this thread, you’d think testimony from 9ers fans would be pretty good but also, Breida has to have the best skill set for a receiving back on the team
 
FinPhan54 said:
I saw a stat earlier in the offseason that per play Brieda was one of the most effective receiving backs in football, however he had limited reps due to them playing in such a committee.

He will definitely handle that role
Click to expand...

I thought that was interesting, so I went to look at what DVOA said. Had Breida qualified, he would've been 20th in receiving DVOA, just behind... Patrick Laird. So, yeah, decent production last year on a per-down basis.
 
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