Is LenDale White another Ron Dayne?

[az jam]

Well there was a message board comparing White to Bettis, but could he become another Ron Dayne. Dayne was a Heisman winner from Wisconsin played behind an excellent line and had a great college career. Was also a big big power back as is White. USC has one of the best offensive lines in football. White is not a workout warrior and there has been questions on his speed. Before we make him a top 10 pick we need to see what he does at the combine or at USC's workout day. Don't get me wrong, I like LenDale and would love to have him be there at #10 when we pick but

 

[Russ Smith]

It's certainly possible but that's the problem in judging college RB's it's so hard to separate them from the OL. Last year I was defending JJ against the anybody could run behind Cal's OL comments, and after 1 year it sure looks like I was wrong(I still think he'll be good). This year Lynch and Forsett went nuts behind that OL and the OL wasn't even healthy all year like it was in 04 when JJ got 2000.

USC has a terrific OL, all 5 kids will play in the NFL, conceivably all 5 kids will start at some point in their careers. There's no question the OL was markedly better this year it shows clearly as both Bush and White's YPC jumped significantly this year. Bush from 6.4 to 8.7, White from 5.4 to 6.6. Some of Bush' jump is his new offseason workouts, but some is clearly the OL got better.

I personally think White is going to be a very good player. The thing I like about White is for a "power" RB, he is not a guy that takes a ton of huge hits. He'll get hit no question, he likes contact, but he's not like Michael Bush who runs so upright and seems to get blasted regularly. Those are the guys who tend to have short careers.

Dayne is a fair comparison, great college career, not much in the NFL(not as bad as people think), but personally I think White has much better feet than Dayne ever did. Dayne was always a one cut and go RB, perfect for the Broncos, White can do that, but he can also make people miss if he has to.

We'll see at the workouts. The one thing that really has me excited about White is the more I read, the more I hear teammates and coaches saying people are going to be surprised what a good receiver he is, he was always out and Bush in on passing downs because Bush is such a threat, but White is apparently a MUCH better receiver than most realize. He's not a great blitz pickup guy but that's true with all rookie RB's and at least he's big enough to do it.

My biggest fear is he'll have a great workout and move up higher than 10th, I'm almost hoping he has a slow 40 or something.

 

[JeffGollin]

That's always a good question to ask each year.

But take into consideration that, for every Curt Enis, there's a Larry Johnson.

 

[az jam]

That's always a good question to ask each year.

But take into consideration that, for every Curt Enis, there's a Larry Johnson.

If Enis had played with a line as good as this year's Chiefs he might have been an all pro.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

White will be much better than Ron Dayne. I always said Dayne would stink in the pros. He was just too slow, no vision, and had zero moves. White is a much more fluid runner than Dayne could ever think to be.

 

[kerouac9]

Wasn't Dayne's success a much greater function of how many carries he got at Wisconsin than White's has been at USC? I don't remember Dayne having the kind of breakaway runs that White has had.

 

[CardsFan222]

White will be much better than Ron Dayne. I always said Dayne would stink in the pros. He was just too slow, no vision, and had zero moves. White is a much more fluid runner than Dayne could ever think to be.

Thats what i see as well. he reminds me more of Ricky Williams when he came out of collage. North and south runner who has enough east and west moves to avoid some tackles. what worries me, like williams, he needed his carries to get going, and i dont think he will get those carries here in AZ. I would love to get a Marshall Faulk, Robert Smith type back who can eat up big chunks of yards with 16 to 20 carries a game. Bush would fit this team like a glove, but we all know thats not going to happen

 

[Redrage]

I totally disagree with the Dayne comparison. Dayne ran in a system without a FB, a lot of draws, a lot of zone blocking. The dude was not a traditional power back but an inflated, slower version of Marshal Faulk. He was not good at following a lead blocker and taking on tacklers and that is why he has not excelled in the pros. He is not similar to White in playing style at all.

 

[Redsz]

The thing that killed Dayne at this level is that he tried to dance around the hole instead of just using his size to plow ahead. This is something that I have seen Steven Jackson start to do for the Rams.

White doesn't seem like a guy who dances. He punishes you. And god have mercy on all of us if he ends up on Steelers.

 

[kerouac9]

Thats what i see as well. he reminds me more of Ricky Williams when he came out of collage. North and south runner who has enough east and west moves to avoid some tackles. what worries me, like williams, he needed his carries to get going, and i dont think he will get those carries here in AZ. I would love to get a Marshall Faulk, Robert Smith type back who can eat up big chunks of yards with 16 to 20 carries a game. Bush would fit this team like a glove, but we all know thats not going to happen

Reggie Bush will get nowhere near 20 carries a game at the NFL level. Honestly, I'd be surprised if he averaged 16 carries a game. 20 carries a game is a lot in the NFL. That translates to 320 attempts per season. Only 8 players did that in 2005 or 2004, 9 in 2003.

Ricky Williams had an astounding 383 and 392 rushes in 2002 and 2003. That averages over 24 rushes a game. No wonder the guy wanted to take a break and smoke some ganj.

Marshall Faulk had all of one season in his career when he went over 320 attempts, and that was his last season as a Colt in 1998. As a Ram, he never topped 260 carries in a season, which is just over 16 carries a game.

Robert Smith completed a 16 game schedule only once in his career(!), and that was his last season, in 2000. That season he had 295 carries, or over 18 carries per game. His most productive season before that was probably 1997, when he carried the ball 232 times in 14 games, which is still just over 16 carries per game average.

Faulk and Smith probably did average 18-20 "touches" per game, including receptions, but so will Reggie Bush. They just weren't rushes. Any team that hands the ball to Reggie 18 times a game is making a huge error in judgement. Part of the reason that Houston's such a good fit for Reggie is that it can optimize playing time for him and Davis.

 

[Diamondback Jay]

If Enis had played with a line as good as this year's Chiefs he might have been an all pro.

Meh.. Enis was too lazy to ever amount to squat.

Johnson is a lot of things, but his work ethic has never been questioned.

 

[CardsFan222]

Marshall Faulk had all of one season in his career when he went over 320 attempts, and that was his last season as a Colt in 1998. As a Ram, he never topped 260 carries in a season, which is just over 16 carries a game.

Robert Smith completed a 16 game schedule only once in his career(!), and that was his last season, in 2000. That season he had 295 carries, or over 18 carries per game. His most productive season before that was probably 1997, when he carried the ball 232 times in 14 games, which is still just over 16 carries per game average.

Like i said 16-20. There will be games where he has 20 there will be games where he has 14. every game is different. he may have 20 carries a game but they could be a light 20 where he does not get hit that much and there is going to be games where he 14 to 16 because he has been running inside the tackles. Bush will be able to carry the rock. I dont think anyone is going to spend the first pick in the draft on a RB that can only run the ball 12-14 times a game. Houston would be stupid to spend the first pick in the draft on a RB and not trade Davis for picks or something. They have 2 ok backs behind Davis now so there will be no need for him after they pick Bush, and they are not good enough to have that luxury

 

[JeffGollin]

The Ron Dayne/Curtis Enos analogy has to do with big power backs who, as they fill out and mature, lose a little bit of speed and explosion and wind up "ordinary."

Enis did. I believe Dayne did.

Jerome Bettis apparently didn't. Neither did Larry Johnson.

The point is that the physical profile of these guys presents teams with that risk - i.e. will the guy retain his speed and explosion (& power?) Or will he lose it?

 

[kerouac9]

Like i said 16-20. There will be games where he has 20 there will be games where he has 14. every game is different. he may have 20 carries a game but they could be a light 20 where he does not get hit that much and there is going to be games where he 14 to 16 because he has been running inside the tackles. Bush will be able to carry the rock. I dont think anyone is going to spend the first pick in the draft on a RB that can only run the ball 12-14 times a game. Houston would be stupid to spend the first pick in the draft on a RB and not trade Davis for picks or something. They have 2 ok backs behind Davis now so there will be no need for him after they pick Bush, and they are not good enough to have that luxury

I don't know if you've ever watched an NFL game, but there's no such thing as "a light 20" carries in the National Football League. It was excessively rare for a guy like Marshall Faulk or Robert Smith to get 18 carries in a game, much less 20. And, in case you weren't reading the post, the 16 carries a game were those guys' career highs, not their averages.

Bush might average 20 touches a game, with carries combined with receptions and returns, but any coach who makes him run out of the backfield 16+ times a game is a worse coach than Dave McGinnis.

 

[jefftheshark]

I don't know if you've ever watched an NFL game

That's a good question since I basically only watch Cardinal games.

The Shark

 

[CardinalChris]

I think it has more to do with "wiggle" Bettis has a knack for making a guy miss in short spaces, or at least move just enough that the guy can't tackle him well. He's shifty. Enis and Dayne weren't shifty enough to make that guy miss. White seems to be the guy who always seemed to get 3 yards past what I expected, mostly by being quick and shifty in that short space.