Marine-O
Active Roster
The more they make the more you pay for tickets’ merchandise, viewing subscriptions etc.
50 million a year is like hitting the lottery every year. The next guy will want 60 then 70 when is it to much for you?
So this is what i'm told...
- Thread starter jreg1
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50 million a year is like hitting the lottery every year. The next guy will want 60 then 70 when is it to much for you?
If you are a starting QB for a college team, you are an “elite” QB As far as the United States goes. There’s just a huge difference between being an elite QB and being an elite NFL QB. The fact that in a nation of 370 million, or for that matter in a world of however many billion, there are only 5-10 QBs on the level of Peyton Manning at any given time, tells you how much value those types of players have and how valued, appreciated, and protected they should be.
Rockchalk
Active Roster
The rules of the game dictate pass heavy offensive schemes. Not to mention after a handful (or less) of elite level players, running backs are a dime 'a' dozen. Just look around the league starting right here,
Miami has 3 guys who could all be the feature back if needed.
Derrick Henry has been one of the best in the league and he might not even be the best on his own team
The Jets have two big names and it doesn't matter
How many different RBs did Brady win Super Bowls with?
Dallas moves on from Ezekiel Elliot (and the money) because the backup was better.
Atlanta drafted arguably the top RB talent and he splits carries with a dude named Tyler Allegier.
The Bears starter gets hurt and the backup looks to be more effective
Nick Chubb has been one of the best in the league, gets hurt and the backup comes in and goes off.
In the past year+ the Lions have had the best Bears RB in awhile (Montgomery), the best Eagles back currently (Swift) and a beast of a prospect in Gibbs.
The Ravens have 3 capable backs and their best runner is the QB
The starting RB for Pittsburgh is averaging 3.9 ypc while the backup is at 6.2 and they are almost equal in yards.
Jonathon Taylor is averaging 3.8 ypc and Moss is averaging 4.6 on more carries
AJ Dillon or Aaron Jones? Answer: Who cares?
The Rams have 3 backs with at least 45 carries
There's more like this, it is league wide, places like San Fran (CMC) and San Diego (Ekeler) are the exception now, not the rule.
Miami has 3 guys who could all be the feature back if needed.
Derrick Henry has been one of the best in the league and he might not even be the best on his own team
The Jets have two big names and it doesn't matter
How many different RBs did Brady win Super Bowls with?
Dallas moves on from Ezekiel Elliot (and the money) because the backup was better.
Atlanta drafted arguably the top RB talent and he splits carries with a dude named Tyler Allegier.
The Bears starter gets hurt and the backup looks to be more effective
Nick Chubb has been one of the best in the league, gets hurt and the backup comes in and goes off.
In the past year+ the Lions have had the best Bears RB in awhile (Montgomery), the best Eagles back currently (Swift) and a beast of a prospect in Gibbs.
The Ravens have 3 capable backs and their best runner is the QB
The starting RB for Pittsburgh is averaging 3.9 ypc while the backup is at 6.2 and they are almost equal in yards.
Jonathon Taylor is averaging 3.8 ypc and Moss is averaging 4.6 on more carries
AJ Dillon or Aaron Jones? Answer: Who cares?
The Rams have 3 backs with at least 45 carries
There's more like this, it is league wide, places like San Fran (CMC) and San Diego (Ekeler) are the exception now, not the rule.
NFL stands for Not For Long
Never forget it
Never forget it
ScottySpades
Active Roster
Never. This is America. People pay to see them so they deserve every penny.
Even without increasing tickets and merchandise the salary cap and thus salaries would still increase due to TV deals.
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Here are the reasons why:
1. Most running backs have a narrow window of peak production which usually doesn’t go much beyond their rookie contract If they are a starter or get a lot of carries. Therefore it doesn’t make sense usually, maybe not always (Derek Henry for example) but 95% of the time, by the time a back gets to his second contract production starts declining and injuries stack up as the wear and tear of the body impacts availability and production.
2. Drafting running backs to replace other running backs rather than signing them to big money contracts, and signing veterans to deals that don’t impact the salary cap as much is has proven to be the way to go, this combination is what chris Greer and company have proven works quite well IMHO.
3. Good running backs coming out of the draft can have an immediate impact in their rookie years so you can get them playing right away. It’s a pretty instinctive position, and generally you can get a good back up to speed quickly on pass protections and each will have their own ceilings as pass catchers. These Backs have been proven to be productive if drafted in the many different rounds, so you don’t even have to spend a first round pick on one usually. Good ones can even be found in like the fifth round for example, and premium backs that have elite traits like Achane can be picked up in the second or third rounds.
4. Because of the fact that most backs have a short career and are bound to miss time due to injuries (just look around the league) it makes sense to have a platoon of backs like for example the Miami Dolphins do so that you can have fairly fresh bodies to March out during the long grind of the season without your running game production dropping off too much As opposed to trying to have a single bell cow back get most of the carries.
Of course there are exceptions to this, but those are truly far and few between. Thus it is a mistake in almost all cases to commit major resources and long term cap space to this position after their rookie contract, and thus the market for this position has spoken and is why it is the way it is, regardless of what you may think which the nfl really doesn’t care about.
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Running backs are much easier to find and replace than QB's and with the salary cap, it is simply economics
Health is part of it. RB's take enormous punishment, so it's very risky to invest a lot in one, but
You're right that it's more about how replaceable they are - how small the gap is between most of them. It's also become a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, as players who would have been RB's 20 years ago now don't want to grow up to play RB, so they play WR, DB, or even LB. So, there are fewer of those outlier talents that might be worth paying.
But, think of Breece Hall. He hasn't fully come back from his injury. He doesn't have the speed and burst he did prior to the injury, but he's still one of the best backs in the league. Give him bad QB and OL play, and outside a couple plays, he suddenly becomes useless.
You can say something similar about WR. The difference is that a WR can elevate QB play/maximize the passing game, and if you don't have great WR play, you need a lot of other exceptional things to go your way to overcome it.
Also in a high-scoring environment, passing game is worth more than run game. So a factor is the league's rules movement towards higher scoring, whereas in the 90s a steady 4.5 YPC can give you a chance to win. Average YPA and explosive play potential must be much greater with a top WR than top RB. Let's leave Achane's insane small sample size out for a moment :)
utahphinsfan
Club Member
Agree. I believe the Ravens have the best rushing offense in the league over ther last few yrs. They do RBBC.
The iggles have a potent running attack attack as well. They too are RBBC.
Hmmm...
Bear in mind that the 2 specific examples used both have QBs that contribute substantially to overall rushing numbers.
JamesWsenior
Club Member
Let's not forget their olines that aren't too bad I guess
utahphinsfan
Club Member
Are you saying Jaxon Dart (Ole Miss) & Sam Hartman (Notre Dame) are elite?
In the NFL, they IMO will be career journeymen back ups i.e. Fitzmagic, Nick Foles, Minshew, yada yada yada.
utahphinsfan
Club Member
I am aware & thought about posting that caveat.
Shooting from the hip as I am, Bmore & Philly were the 1st examples I could think of.
After further review, the Niners have had a potent rushing attack ... both w/ McCaffery as the lead back & RBBC.
The catch w/ using SF is Deebo Samuel & his contribution.