Jets Postgame

[wichmae]

According to PFF and advanced football metrics Sproles has had only 17% of his snaps when he was coming off the LOS. Bush for comparison has had 2 total snaps at LOS and 10 total in 2013. Cobb has had 94% of his snaps at the LOS. So no they arent comparable.

Harvin, Vincent Jackson, Victor Cruz, and Amendola are the only slot receiver in the top 25 base year salary for the entire position group. Jackson is a weird case though because he plays both in and outside according to snaps.

[wichmae]

According to PFF and advanced football metrics Sproles has had only 17% of his snaps when he was coming off the LOS. Bush for comparison has had 2 total snaps at LOS and 10 total in 2013. Cobb has had 94% of his snaps at the LOS. So no they arent comparable.

Harvin, Vincent Jackson, Victor Cruz, and Amendola are the only slot receiver in the top 25 base year salary for the entire position group. Jackson is a weird case though because he plays both in and outside according to snaps.

eta: this is the same metric that was used this last offseason to decide whether Jimmy Graham was a TE or WR.

[Newz]

I wasn't trying to say that those guys were slot receivers. What I was saying is the role that I see Cobb in when it comes to this offense is he is a guy where you typically want to get the ball in his hands and then have him make something happen after the catch. Now, he approaches that differently than some of the good receiving backs do... but in the end I feel like that role in the offense is somewhat similar. You want to dump the ball to those guys on high percentage passes and then have them make something happen.

Obviously you aren't going to be lining Bush or Sproles up in the slot consistently just like you won't be lining up Cobb in the backfield all of the time.

[El Duderino]

I wasn't trying to say that those guys were slot receivers. What I was saying is the role that I see Cobb in when it comes to this offense is he is a guy where you typically want to get the ball in his hands and then have him make something happen after the catch. Now, he approaches that differently than some of the good receiving backs do... but in the end I feel like that role in the offense is somewhat similar. You want to dump the ball to those guys on high percentage passes and then have them make something happen.

Obviously you aren't going to be lining Bush or Sproles up in the slot consistently just like you won't be lining up Cobb in the backfield all of the time.

But their roles aren't somewhat similar at all.

Cobb lines up in the backfield at most a few times a game, whiles Sproles and Bush line up in the backfield almost exclusively. Cobb runs all kinds of routes way downfield or 10 plus yards downfield out of the slot all game long, not just quick in slants, while Sproles and Bush pretty much only get the ball on screens and dump offs a few yards past the line of scrimmage. The same as guys like Danny Woodhead and other third down backs with good hands.

So what exactly are similar about the roles of Cobb and Sproles/Bush besides the fact that all three are good at running after the catch because i see very little else which is similar and certainly wouldn't see either of Sproles/Bush as a good replacement if Cobb was let go?

Now if you wanted to say instead that a Sproles and/or Bush type of running back would be a nice compliment backup RB to Lacey, regardless if Cobb was here or not, there would be no argument from me. Then again, i'd really like to see Harris get the ball more often on screens or dump offs, both because he seems to have good hands and the type of burst in the open field to create big gains that Lacey doesn't have as much of.

[emunney]

Not really here nor there, but I love it when Sproles lines up in the backfield and then motions out to stack behind the slot receiver.

[El Duderino]

Speaking of Sproles, i'm a little surprised that the Saints only got a 5th rounder for him.

I get that he's only a part time back, but he's a nightmare matchup for linebackers to cover out of the backfield and seems to have gotten a ton of big first downs over the years on catches, along with big gains. Mix in that he can return kicks and punts, i would have thought he'd have been valued at least a little higher higher. Granted though, at age 31 and being kind of a specialty player, he's more of a fit on teams expecting to make the playoffs and in an offense with a play caller who can best use his unique skills by game planning to consistently get him the ball out in space, where his small size becomes an asset to go with shifty feet and quick explosion.

Chip Kelly's mind and scheme which excels at getting playmakers out in space is an ideal fit.

[Newz]

I wasn't trying to say that those guys were slot receivers. What I was saying is the role that I see Cobb in when it comes to this offense is he is a guy where you typically want to get the ball in his hands and then have him make something happen after the catch. Now, he approaches that differently than some of the good receiving backs do... but in the end I feel like that role in the offense is somewhat similar. You want to dump the ball to those guys on high percentage passes and then have them make something happen.

Obviously you aren't going to be lining Bush or Sproles up in the slot consistently just like you won't be lining up Cobb in the backfield all of the time.

But their roles aren't somewhat similar at all.

Cobb lines up in the backfield at most a few times a game, whiles Sproles and Bush line up in the backfield almost exclusively. Cobb runs all kinds of routes way downfield or 10 plus yards downfield out of the slot all game long, not just quick in slants, while Sproles and Bush pretty much only get the ball on screens and dump offs a few yards past the line of scrimmage. The same as guys like Danny Woodhead and other third down backs with good hands.

So what exactly are similar about the roles of Cobb and Sproles/Bush besides the fact that all three are good at running after the catch because i see very little else which is similar and certainly wouldn't see either of Sproles/Bush as a good replacement if Cobb was let go?

Now if you wanted to say instead that a Sproles and/or Bush type of running back would be a nice compliment backup RB to Lacey, regardless if Cobb was here or not, there would be no argument from me. Then again, i'd really like to see Harris get the ball more often on screens or dump offs, both because he seems to have good hands and the type of burst in the open field to create big gains that Lacey doesn't have as much of.

I guess I see running backs, especially those who can come out of the backfield and catch the ball, and wide receivers as offensive weapons more than guys just defined by position now. Obviously you can't compare guys like Sproles or Bush to someone like Megatron because the guy is more of an outside receiver who is going to stretch the field. But I guess I see guys like Cobb and Welker as filling a similar role to backs who come out of the field, catch the ball and make big plays out of it.

Obviously they don't go about it in the exact same way, but the concept is very similar. If you choose not to like the comparison then that's fine... I guess I don't really see a need argue about it. But I see those type of guys as the types you want to get the ball to with high percentage throws and then have them turn those high percentage throws into big plays. Regardless of if it is a screen pass to a back or a WR screen, regardless of if it is a quick hitch/slant by Cobb or a back running out in the flat... that's what you want those guys to do. Create easy opportunities for your QB and then turn them into big plays.