LenDale White -- pros and cons

[football karma]

For full disclosure: I am a proponent of taking LenDale White at #10 -- (I am also assuming the Cardinals sign one or more offensive linemen in free agency as well)


The question:

Is LenDale White a power runner with NFL caliber skills?

or

Is LenDale White a straight liner that is a product of USC's offensive line?


I could argue for both. Discuss.

 

[Pariah]

I think he's a "powerful" runner, but he seems like he's probably more than just a "power" runner. He'll be drafted as someone's feature back.

Green Bay, maybe?

 

[RON_IN_OC]

I like White, but when his team needed a yard he couldn't deliver. Wow, that means he'd fit in nicely with the Cards.

Go LenDale!

 

[duckfallas]

I can't see this guy lasting until the 10th pick unless he screws up between now and April or does bad at the combine.

 

[az jam]

He hasn't yet declared that he is going to come out. Pete Carroll wants him to stay and told him he will be the featured back and has a chance for getting the third consecutive Heisman for USC. So he may stay. On the other hand his stock has certainly risen and will be most likely a top 10 pick.
There is a question on his speed. He may run a slow 40 which could cause him to drop in the draft.

But I would take him at #10 as he is a power back. Arrington could get some carries so White would not have to carry the full load.

 

[clif]

Well if he decides to return to USC and Vince stays at Texas there is no way in heck he will win the Heisman next year so if that is his motivation he might as well leave for the NFL.

I suspect though that he will leave.

He is a powerful runner that would be a great addition to any team. Of course he benefited from a great line, but ask Michael Huff what he thinks about Lendale.

 

[Russ Smith]

I like White, but when his team needed a yard he couldn't deliver. Wow, that means he'd fit in nicely with the Cards.

Go LenDale!

That was 4th and 2 and it was a long 2, nearly 3. He moved the pile and came really close. THe real problem was the play before, he got spun and the ball came out(first fumble of the season for him) and right to Steve Smith. They lost about a yard on that fumble.

Great player, he runs through the first contact, and he has a great stiffarm, ask the Texas DBs he was plowing over all night about that. He's got very good feet too, has a lot of Steven Jackson in him except he doesn't run as upright as Jackson.

 

[blindseyed]

That was 4th and 2 and it was a long 2, nearly 3. He moved the pile and came really close. THe real problem was the play before, he got spun and the ball came out(first fumble of the season for him) and right to Steve Smith. They lost about a yard on that fumble.

Great player, he runs through the first contact, and he has a great stiffarm, ask the Texas DBs he was plowing over all night about that. He's got very good feet too, has a lot of Steven Jackson in him except he doesn't run as upright as Jackson.

I agree, he's very good!
My question is this:
Going into a new stadium, the team trying to build and DG needing to win, do we take ANOTHER RB or do we try and get a Franchis QB?
Lendale is definately someone I'd want on my team BUT do I want him over a a QBOF?
Tough decision cuz there's alot of argument for and against that...I don't know..

 

[NEZCardsfan]

I agree, he's very good!
My question is this:
Going into a new stadium, the team trying to build and DG needing to win, do we take ANOTHER RB or do we try and get a Franchis QB?
Lendale is definately someone I'd want on my team BUT do I want him over a a QBOF?
Tough decision cuz there's alot of argument for and against that...I don't know..

Well if you are trying to win right away LenDale White would instantly make this team better. Short Yardage/Red Zone, he would be awesome. Nice compliment to JJ.

Whatever QBOF you would get, would be just that, a QB of the Future. It'd be no sooner than a year before you'd see a payoff from drafting a QB.

 

[Russ Smith]

I agree, he's very good!
My question is this:
Going into a new stadium, the team trying to build and DG needing to win, do we take ANOTHER RB or do we try and get a Franchis QB?
Lendale is definately someone I'd want on my team BUT do I want him over a a QBOF?
Tough decision cuz there's alot of argument for and against that...I don't know..

Can't answer that until we're on the board but I seriously doubt Young or Leinart fall to 10. If Young comes out my gut tells me he's the first QB taken, might even be the first pick, local boy goes to Texans. I think Leinart won't fall past 5 but I do think he'll slip a bit I think there's enough health concerns that teams won't want to pay him a top 2 contract, I think he goes 3-5. So really Cutler appears to be the next guy and I've never seen him play and have no idea where he goes.

Our whole problem this year was we can't run the ball, so unless there's a can't miss OL on the board at 10, it's hard to pass on a guy like White. yes that OL is great but hey Bush is going high for the same reason, many of his best plays were in large part through huge holes. And we all saw last night with our own eyes that behind the same OL, with the same defense, White was MUCH more effective than Bush.

I don't know, I'm still blown away by how talented those 2 teams are.

 

[football karma]

I agree, he's very good!
My question is this:
Going into a new stadium, the team trying to build and DG needing to win, do we take ANOTHER RB or do we try and get a Franchis QB?
Lendale is definately someone I'd want on my team BUT do I want him over a a QBOF?
Tough decision cuz there's alot of argument for and against that...I don't know..

If DG needs to win right away, and the Cards want to win right away because of the new stadium, taking a RB is the choice --

The team has a much better shot of winning right away with Warner at QB rather than any rookie QB you take in the draft.

I think everyone would agree that the Cards offense is a running game away from being one of the best in the NFL.

 

[blindseyed]

I don't know, I'm still blown away by how talented those 2 teams are.

I was impressed with that, too. WOW, what a game!
I guess I'm frustrated with not having a 'Set' QB for years to come, since we all know Kurt/McCown aren't that QB and I was alittle nervous to hear a rumor that DG was 'talking up' Navarre...
I do know this should be a pretty interesting off-season as long as the front office makes some moves and gets some good players.

 

[D-Dogg]

If DG needs to win right away, and the Cards want to win right away because of the new stadium, taking a RB is the choice --

The team has a much better shot of winning right away with Warner at QB rather than any rookie QB you take in the draft.

I think everyone would agree that the Cards offense is a running game away from being one of the best in the NFL.

I would be happy with OT, OG, DT, QB, MLB or RB (white) at 10. It may be very likely though that LenDale is the BPA at 10, and if so we should probably take him. I'd rather see us with a lineman at 10 however, but a big bruiser back to complement Arrington would be fine. Seriously, I think we are going to get something good out of this draft.

And its not a given that White comes out, either.

 

[blindseyed]

I would be happy with OT, OG, DT, QB, MLB or RB (white) at 10. It may be very likely though that LenDale is the BPA at 10, and if so we should probably take him. I'd rather see us with a lineman at 10 however, but a big bruiser back to complement Arrington would be fine. Seriously, I think we are going to get something good out of this draft.

And its not a given that White comes out, either.

Are there any FA O-lineman worth bringing in?

 

[D-Dogg]

Are there any FA O-lineman worth bringing in?

You know, FA also effects who I'll be seriously championing come draft day. What holes do we fill? If we beef up the Oline in the offseason, then White (if he comes out and is there) is probably a no-brainer because he'll perform like he did at USC. Without the oline, he may not have the same success at the next level.

Senior Bowl, combine, etc., juniors declaring, etc. A lot of stuff yet to come that can really affect BPA at #10.

 

[CardLogic]

I don't like Bickley's opinions, however he had a good one on the radio this morning....


"GLenDale" White!!!

And btw, what makes White such a good RB in addition to his power (and a very good OL) is that the kid has great vision and timing!

 

[Russ Smith]

You know, FA also effects who I'll be seriously championing come draft day. What holes do we fill? If we beef up the Oline in the offseason, then White (if he comes out and is there) is probably a no-brainer because he'll perform like he did at USC. Without the oline, he may not have the same success at the next level.

Senior Bowl, combine, etc., juniors declaring, etc. A lot of stuff yet to come that can really affect BPA at #10.

True but even if the OL sucks as much next year as it did this year(god forbid) a guy like WHite is going to look better behind it as the "pwer RB" than either Shipp or Arrington. NOw if we can upgrade the OL, and certainly we better, he's only going to get better.

The question becomes will drafting White prevent you from upgrading the OL, and that can only be answered on draft day when we're on the board and know is White in the draft, is he on the board, which OL's are on the board etc.

 

[NEZCardsfan]

True but even if the OL sucks as much next year as it did this year(god forbid) a guy like WHite is going to look better behind it as the "pwer RB" than either Shipp or Arrington. NOw if we can upgrade the OL, and certainly we better, he's only going to get better.

The question becomes will drafting White prevent you from upgrading the OL, and that can only be answered on draft day when we're on the board and know is White in the draft, is he on the board, which OL's are on the board etc.

The best FA pickup this team can get is an experienced, compotent, O-Line coach.

You could anchor this line with Anthony Munoz and Dan Diedorf.....but if they are out there blocking air it hardly matters.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

With the game on the line, White was stopped dead on a 4th and slightly more than one.

If the O-line doesn't do the job, it doesn't really matter how good you are.

No RB is stronger than D-lineman.

P.S. I did like that guard #71 on the USC line...

 

[Russ Smith]

With the game on the line, White was stopped dead on a 4th and slightly more than one.

If the O-line doesn't do the job, it doesn't really matter how good you are.

No RB is stronger than D-lineman.

P.S. I did like that guard #71 on the USC line...

It was almost 3 yards but yes that does prove that even a great short yardage runner won't always get the first down.

 

[CaptTurbo]

If DG needs to win right away, and the Cards want to win right away because of the new stadium, taking a RB is the choice --

The team has a much better shot of winning right away with Warner at QB rather than any rookie QB you take in the draft.

I think everyone would agree that the Cards offense is a running game away from being one of the best in the NFL.

We took the #1 tyardage runner in college last year. He has no oline and your answer to solving our running game is another RB?

I dont get how we need to replace Shipp to win. Or why we even need 2 rb's at that.

Lets get olineman and a NT

 

[football karma]

We took the #1 tyardage runner in college last year. He has no oline and your answer to solving our running game is another RB?

I dont get how we need to replace Shipp to win. Or why we even need 2 rb's at that.

Lets get olineman and a NT

While the Cards no doubt need to add offensive line help, I dont think rookie offensive line help is the answer. In the post that started all this off, I stated that I am assuming (based on Green's final presser) that the Cards willl pursue free agent line help.

While there is while till the draft, I dont thing anybody is thinking of Watson of Mich, or Wright of Texas, or Ngata of Oregon as worth the #10 slot -- who knows, maybe a Wroten of LSU or Bunkley of FSU will rise up the charts, but those guys dont have that NT build.

If LenDale White is in a group of four or five players available at that slot that are more or less equally rated, and the others are DEs, FS and WRs -- why not a running back as the slot? -- especially one that gives you a completely different attribute than the one you took in the second round last year

 

[nickolaskus]

In my opinion, we have to take him if he is there. The guy just knows how to get into the endzone. He already holds the USC record for career TD's and he is just a junior. We scored 2 rushing TD's last year. We can move the ball between the 20's, we need this guy to push us in the endzone, fixing arguably our biggest weakness last year.

 

[john h]

I agree, he's very good!
My question is this:
Going into a new stadium, the team trying to build and DG needing to win, do we take ANOTHER RB or do we try and get a Franchis QB?
Lendale is definately someone I'd want on my team BUT do I want him over a a QBOF?
Tough decision cuz there's alot of argument for and against that...I don't know..

The guy that will make the "quickest" impact is a RB if he is good. That is where we are weak. I will not cry if we take a QB but I just do not see Green doing that.

 

[john h]

Can't answer that until we're on the board but I seriously doubt Young or Leinart fall to 10. If Young comes out my gut tells me he's the first QB taken, might even be the first pick, local boy goes to Texans. I think Leinart won't fall past 5 but I do think he'll slip a bit I think there's enough health concerns that teams won't want to pay him a top 2 contract, I think he goes 3-5. So really Cutler appears to be the next guy and I've never seen him play and have no idea where he goes.

Our whole problem this year was we can't run the ball, so unless there's a can't miss OL on the board at 10, it's hard to pass on a guy like White. yes that OL is great but hey Bush is going high for the same reason, many of his best plays were in large part through huge holes. And we all saw last night with our own eyes that behind the same OL, with the same defense, White was MUCH more effective than Bush.

I don't know, I'm still blown away by how talented those 2 teams are.

There has been a lot of post speculating on Leinharts health. Does anyone have any factual information to support this? I have never read any such thing but then I do not read everything. I would think it would be major news if he had a medical problem.