Arsenal?s Position by Position Analysis (?Backs) [Part 1] This is my second positional installment on the NY Jets team. I finished with LB?s last time around and nailed some of my predictions and did not nail some of my predictions. Here is what I nailed: -Bryan Thomas will fill the void respectably for John Abraham as a pass rusher in both the OLB and DE positions. -Anthony Schlegel (even if it was two games) proved he is a huge liability in pass coverage and does not have the versatility that Mangini style linebackers require. -Jon Vilma will be mediocre in the 3-4 alignment -Trevor Johnson is playing somewhat consistently -Eric Barton is as good as he was in the 3-4 and is versatile in both ILB and OLB Here is what I was off on: -Kassell will be a dominant ILB. At best he was above average -Hobson will suck. He was surprisingly solid and has shown better instinct than previous years -Vilma will get some burn at OLB. At this point it seems that he will only be an ILB which I disagree with. He is a versatile player and I believe we should play him at OLB, ILB, MLB and SS. Going back to the running back and full back positions, the Jets seem to be lacking true starters at both positions on the field. We seem interested in acquiring players like Lee Suggs and TJ Duckett but I rather go with what we have unless we get a legitimate starting caliber player within our reach. Anyway, without further ado let me begin my player by player analysis. Cedric Houston: Cedric Houston seems to be a very good pick in the 6th round by Terry Bradaway. He is a good solid runner who is serviceable at a starter. No, he will not bring a team back in a game by himself but he can definitely carry the load of 300+ carries. He has solid size with thick muscular thighs and runs with a low center of gravity. He is agile and can make players miss. He also is big enough to break arm tackles and can move the pile really well. He can catch out of the backfield but I doubt he will be anything more than a check down receiver. Those are his positives. The biggest problem with Houston is his acceleration. He takes a while to reach his top speed and has to slow down considerably to make cuts once he has reached full speed. Every wonder why he is a 3.5 yard per carry back? He rarely breaks the long ones and lacks the top end speed to do so but he does have good instinct if he has clear open holes and also has good instinct down the field creating extra yardage. He works well in space due to his vision. The problem is that if the blocking scheme is thwarted, he cannot create much by himself. He never has fumbling issues holding the ball high in a Tiki Barber fashion. His running style consists of a slashing running back who likes to be either between the OG and OT or between the OT and TE. He can also go outside, but will need very good blocks by receivers to make anything happen. In the end, I see Cedric Houston as the main ball carrier in our running back by committee offense. He has all the makings for a power back except quick feet off the snap. In fact, I will go as far to say that he has the skills to be a Jerome Bettis if and only if he acquires Bettis? agile feet. The problem is that hr has shown little to prove he can ever acquire that nimbleness. Acceleration is one of the most important qualities in a running back and I am afraid to say Houston does not have it. (BTW, I see a similar issue with TJ Duckett) Derrick Blaylock: Blaylock is a different breed of running back. He is nimble, fast and has great vision. He is very good in draws, tosses, sweeps and screens. He uses his blockers well and can break a big one at any time. His biggest detraction is that he goes down easy. As much as it is hard to find him, defenders will need little help in getting him down. He shows toughness but due to his Warrick Dunn style frame he rarely can push the pocket much. He is very good in space and if he has a big hole, he will get at least a 10 yard gain. He does well without a FB in front of him and loves single back sets (due to the space he gets). BTW, his pass blocking has improved (somehow I just remembered that) He does well inside and outside but unlike Houston he cannot run in a slash position as it guarantees contact with defenders. He can be a one cut back and pick his holes really well. In short, he brings everything that Houston does not and lacks everything that Houston has. I see him having about 30% of the carries this season with around 400-500 yards. He lacks consistency in the backfield so except to have a variety of runs from 2 yard losses to 20 yard gains. Leon Washington: Leon is a very interesting back. He is tough, fast but small. He has everything except size and pass protection. He runs low and his height is rather small making him somewhat of a scat back. He is very nimble and has top end speed. He can succeed in most systems. He has good vision outside, down the field and inside and uses his blockers extremely well. He has great balance and likes to shy away from contact rather than attack it. He displayed some of his speed yesterday on his kick off return. He is tough but can neither move the pile nor break tackles. He is smart and can play well in almost any formation (except SY/GL). I like him as a player though he seems like a younger version of Blaylock. He has good hands and in short is a very very very very very poor man version of Reggie Bush. (No he is no where close to Reggie). His biggest detraction other than size is his pass protection. He shows weakness in technique and unlike college where he was just small, now he is very small. He better improve his technique to get the most out of his ability. I don?t see him used much (about 10% of the carries) and see him learning in his first year. Play Calling: I see the separation of carries as follows: Houston {50%} Blaylock {30%} Washington {10%} Other {10%} (I think Martin is done) Houston should see a majority of playing time especially in the red zone while I see Blaylock as a change of pace player on 2nd and 3rd downs with 5-7 yards to go. I see Washington used sparingly as a receiving scat back. There is not much to say about these players except that they all have something the others lack which in this case is a negative. None are spectacular while none suck. Unlike LB?s, there is just not enough stuff to dig up on them. My next thread will be about the FB?s and the phasing out of the position in Part 2.
