He actually played fairly well for the Dolphins in his limited role all things considered. They had an AWFUL O-line, and zero passing game to keep the defense honest. He's no star, but I see him being a useful contributor as he runs hard.
The offensive line can't give Thomas Jones good leverage against tacklers or change the way he runs. Instead of keeping his feet moving, he plants them and tries to power through tacklers. That isn't going to work on the goal line, and hasn't even going back to his Super Bowl year with the Bears. If Chatman doesn't make a big difference in goal line and short yardage situations, we are going to have some big issues on the ground this year.
In all seriousness I concur -- I hope they are taking this opportunity to get the line signals and stuff down better.
Damnit, I want Derrick Ward back. But really, at this point, Chatman seems to be the only glimmer of hope when it comes to short-yardage rushing. I should've heeded those criticisms of TJ "dancing" at the line rather than crashing through it more seriously.
Just as Bradshaw blasted his way into the NYG lineup for some playing time, I think Jesse C will do the same thing. He's quick and laterally deft, but most of all he likes to run the ball. Liked him in Miama, and like him here from what I've seen as well.
Chatman > Jones He played extremely well with the Dolphins last year, I thought. And he's a great pass catcher out of the backfield.
could not agree more--well stated--I posted AFTER the Cardinal game that we should start Chatman against the Bengals--Of course I got crucified on this board--glad to see you (and others) talkingup Chatman--there is a reason Jones has been on 4 teams.
I can't fucking wait until Chatman returns. It was difficult to tell who the bigger threat was last year: Ronnie Brown or Jesse Chatman. You can snicker all you want, but the Fins had a damn good running attack the first half of last year. I want Leon to be used slightly more and Chatman to get every one of TJ's carries. EVEN IF he picks up the same amount of yardage as Jones, he will be doing damage to defenses in a way Jones cannot. I'm sorry, but stiff-arming a guy and lowering your shoulder into a guy are two different things. Sure, stiff arms look great, but they're just shoves. If they're used to break a tackle before a long gain, then awesome, they're great. Jones doesn't use the stiff arm in this regard. He kinda signs off on a sideline run with it as opposed to just lowering the shoulder and laying some wood. Here's the thing- when it comes to running backs, fuck guns, it's all about the legs. Michael Turner, Maurice Jones-Drew, LT, Larry Johnson... LEGS. Thick ass legs. Jones can pull off a mighty intimidating bicep curl, but those chicken legs aren't scaring anybody.
Excellent post, I agree with every word of it. People look at Jones' arms and think he's a power back, but he doesn't run with leverage because his legs don't provide an adequate push and he ends up trying to grind through instead of using short powerful bursts with fast legs... in this regard, he runs like a creampuff most times. Chatman fights like an animal to get yardage, and his short stature gives him even more in terms of leverage.
Is there any solid proof that 'Lectric Leon can't handle 20 carries a game? I think BS1 is just being unimaginative in his use of personnel, and when he does try to get creative you end up with Brad Smith at QB. Here's a thought, use Leon as the workhorse back and TJ as the third down back. This will reduce YAC by the RB, but vastly improve pass blocking by the RB. And TJ has good hands, giving him the third down back job will lighten the load on Leon enough to let him handle the feature back role. Here's a depressing thought, would you rather have Derrick Ward and Danny Ware or TJ and Jesse Chatman?
I like your thinking Abyz. Chatman gets us those short tough yardage, cause he's the only one badass enough to do it. There'll be plenty of carries to go around cause when you have 3 RBs doing things, they're going to end up having roles in the offense. Jones = "solid starter" type that'll get you good yardage on first and second down usually. Leon = the playmaker. Chatman = Goal line/tough D (he'll see more carries against teams with big D-lines)/short yardage
