Fred Taylor or Duece McAlister

[bowlingtwig]

The Trib is speculating that the Bears should go after either Fred Taylor, salary cap casualty of the Jacksonville Jaguars or Duece McAllister who was released by the Saints. The Trib says that McAllister is a higher risk with his injuries that he has had since his 1,000+ yards rushing in 2006. Would it make sense to sign either Taylor or McAllister as a compliment to Forte' at this point or do you see someone else out there that is a possible free agent or someone that we may be able to draft in a later round as a compliment to Forte". I kind of like the idea of either one of these proven backs who would probably be able to mentor Forte' a bit more on the fundamentals of running in the NFL. I do not want either one to come in and replace Forte' however, it would be nice to be able to give Forte' a good breather once in a while during the game and not loose to much with switching to another durable back. What do you all think?

 

I like Fred Taylor personally and don't think he would be looking to replace Forte as he is getting near the end of the road of his career and for the past couple of years he was durable because the Jags split carries so well. I think he would be a perfect compliment while being a very good teacher.

[defiantgiant]

I wasn't trying to imply we need to copy Denver's ZBS nor the RBs who are successful in that scheme. The point is to run whatever scheme you want but draft or sign the Oline players that fit the scheme. Then behind that line you can fit in a good RB who fits that style of play.

 

Would it be better to use the Giants as a reference? The lost Tiki Barber after he had a great season, at the top of the league, and the next two years afterwards pretty much every guy that has run the ball for them is playing "great". In 2008 -- Jacobs 5.0 ypc, Derek Ward 5.6 ypc, Ahmad Bradshaw 5.3ypc. Either all 3 of these guys are elite stud RBs or the Oline gave them some nice holes to run through.

 

Well, it's not an either/or proposition here: obviously the Giants' line is awesome, but Jacobs, Ward, and Bradshaw aren't just some guys off the street. If Chicago could build an o-line of that caliber, we'd have a lot of success running the ball. That said, it's going too far to say that "anyone" can run behind New York's line - all three of those backs are really, really good.

 

Look at the success the Giants had running the ball: there's a reason that you don't see a running game like theirs that often. To have two 1000-yard rushers and three guys over 5 YPC in the NFL, you need elite backs AND and elite o-line.

 

Upgrading the line will go a long way toward getting the Bears' running game going, but you can't undervalue a good platoon of backs. Forte is awesome, but Peterson and Wolfe aren't Ward and Bradshaw. We need a backup who's good enough to start if he has to: Fred Taylor would be ideal.

[AZ54]

Derek Ward is an elite RB? Then why did he struggle to make an NFL roster his first year? He's 28 years old yet he's only had one good year at RB and at that he wasn't carrying the load.

[jason]

Derek Ward is an elite RB? Then why did he struggle to make an NFL roster his first year? He's 28 years old yet he's only had one good year at RB and at that he wasn't carrying the load.

 

I'll go one further. To compare the Giants RBs with the Bears RBs is truly ignorant. Their OL is one of the best in the league, and the Bears' OL is one of the worst.

 

Ward would be complete garbage in Chicago.

Bradshaw? Pshaw!!

 

Hell, I think even Jacobs would be significantly worsened behind the Bears' OL. He wouldn't have big holes to hit, thus utilizing his size and his momentum. He'd be forced to move laterally, thereby negating the one advantage he has, and everyone on this board would be talking about how bad he was, or how he tap-danced too much...when we all know the tap-dancing has more to do with the dance partner (read: OL).

 

The Bears' RB situation is way, WAY down on the list of concerns. Forte is a stud, AP is a solid contributor (who would do similar things as Ward/Bradshaw behind the Giants' OL), and Wolfe is a guy who is just dying to get the ball like Sproles did this year - and consequently break ankles like Sproles did.

[defiantgiant]

Derek Ward is an elite RB? Then why did he struggle to make an NFL roster his first year? He's 28 years old yet he's only had one good year at RB and at that he wasn't carrying the load.

 

I assume you're talking about his time on the Jets' practice squad. I can't claim to know what went on with the Jets' talent evaluation, but I really don't think it's relevant. I didn't say he was an elite back in 2004. I said he's at that level now. As for why he didn't produce until last year, ask yourself who he was behind on the depth chart: Jacobs and Tiki Barber. Once he got touches, he produced. Would you say DeAngelo Williams wasn't an elite back this season, just because it was his first one over 1000 yards?

 

As for carrying the load, that's not his job. Jacobs is the bellcow on their roster, Ward is a change of pace, pass-catching back. But if you start listing the change of pace backs who are at his level or better, you'll be talking about the best guys in the NFL for that role.

 

 

I'll go one further. To compare the Giants RBs with the Bears RBs is truly ignorant. Their OL is one of the best in the league, and the Bears' OL is one of the worst.

 

Ward would be complete garbage in Chicago.

Bradshaw? Pshaw!!

 

Hell, I think even Jacobs would be significantly worsened behind the Bears' OL. He wouldn't have big holes to hit, thus utilizing his size and his momentum. He'd be forced to move laterally, thereby negating the one advantage he has, and everyone on this board would be talking about how bad he was, or how he tap-danced too much...when we all know the tap-dancing has more to do with the dance partner (read: OL).

 

The Bears' RB situation is way, WAY down on the list of concerns. Forte is a stud, AP is a solid contributor (who would do similar things as Ward/Bradshaw behind the Giants' OL), and Wolfe is a guy who is just dying to get the ball like Sproles did this year - and consequently break ankles like Sproles did.

 

Let me put this another way: that a good back will do poorly behind a bad o-line does NOT imply that a bad back will perform well behind a good one. You can say Jacobs wouldn't do well in Chicago (although I don't agree with that) but that doesn't mean that Jacobs isn't good, or that the Cedric Bensons of the world would be all-stars in New York.

 

You're assuming your conclusion here: in order to prove that the Giants' line is responsible for their success running the ball, you're baldly asserting that the backs aren't. Since it's either the backs, the line, or (as I've been saying) both, you're basically saying "it's the line, therefore it's the line." That's not an argument backed up by evidence, it's a tautology.

 

Look, Forte is awesome. Behind him, though, who do we have? Adrian Peterson had one season with over 100 touches. In that season, he averaged 3.4 a carry. Angelo is talking about giving another back 10-15 touches a game, so that they can reduce Forte's touches to 20-25. We've already seen what AP will do with that kind of workload. He's versatile and good on special teams, so I like him as a third-string emergency RB, but he's not a guy who should be in your starting rotation.

 

You say Peterson would produce like Ward behind the Giants' o-line, but what are you basing that on? Ward is way faster, with better lateral quickness, and he's almost 20 pounds heavier, to boot. Ward put up more yards in a season and a half of real playing time than Peterson has in his entire career. The only area where I see even comparable ability from Peterson is in receiving, and even then, I'm not sure he's as good as Ward.

 

I don't get the Wolfe-Sproles comparison at all. I keep saying this on these boards, but Wolfe has averaged (excluding one long run on a fake punt) under 3 yards per carry thus far in his career. That's running inside, running off tackle, sweeps, whatever. Just because he's a similar size doesn't mean he's Darren Sproles. Darren Sproles is listed at 5'6" 181 by the Chargers. Dantrell Savage from KC is 5'8", 182. Justin Forsett from the Seahawks is 5'8", 194. I'm not ready to call either of those guys the next Darren Sproles, and the same goes for Wolfe. He might end up being good, but he hasn't yet proven that he IS good. Sproles is faster than Wolfe, is built stockier, and has a hell of a lot more leg drive. Saying Wolfe is equal to Sproles is like saying Sproles is equal to Maurice Jones-Drew. They're three different backs on three very different levels of ability, it doesn't matter that they're all short.

 

All I'm saying is this: we need to shore up the line, but that won't turn Wolfe or Peterson into the complement backs we need. Peterson's a third-stringer and Wolfe is an unknown. You can't say with any certainty that either of them would produce given 15 touches a game. The Bears need to get a back who they can be SURE will produce. Fred Taylor would be a great pickup.

[ostrogoth]

Agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed that Fred Taylor will visit with the Bills this week.

Buffalo is looking for insurance against a Marshawn Lynch suspension. New England is also believed to be interested

[balta1701-A]

Taylor signs with the Pats.