Why do people think Shonn Greene is some sort of homerun hitter or more of a homerun hitter than TJ? Brandon Tierney is now part of this group based on his comments today. Greene is barely a sub 4.7 at 24 years of age. TJ at that age was running in the low 4.4s. Although he's not that fast anymore, he's certainly faster than Greene. Fast enough to break 1 for 71 yards this year. All it takes is a couple of low production games for people to jump on the TJ is losing a step bandwagon. This guy is thre Rodney Dangerfield of football. No matter what he does, he can't seem to get any respect.
40 times arent too important. especially when pads are on. also Greene DEFINITELY has a better burst. his longspeed doesnt match up with TJ's but Greene is at full speed by the time he hits the LOS and thats why you see him blowing through the next level with ease. Jones is more of a cutback runner or someone who needs a wide hole. neither one is a homerun hitter.
I can't remember reading a single poster on this board calling Greene a 'home run hitter'. He is a power back, something we lacked before the draft, and he works well to push TJ for carries and punish tacklers to soften them up as a COP back for Jones. With some time, I think he can be a premier back for a few years, but his running style is going to limit the number of years he can be effective back. I think he's definitely going to warrant the trade-up Tanny made for him and I'm glad we have this combo of backs right now to temper the loss of Leon's explosive play. Leon is our true home run hitter.
That's exactly right. Greene hits the hole with a different kind of burst than TJ. Jones knows to look for holes, make cuts, and get quality yardage if there's something there. It also means that a lot of times he gets caught when there are no holes available. When Greene gets to the hole, he does it full speed, with that "if the hole isn't there, I'll make one" philosophy. Because of that he's already going full tilt if that hole opens up. He might not be the fastest back in the world, but if he's already going full speed he can be tough to catch for defenders not ready to go to chase mode (see that run against the Raiders).
That's the other thing about Greene, when he gets into the open field, he doesn't need to be that ankle-breaker juke-machine that a guy like Leon does. Greene has stronger legs than both TJ and Leon put together, and is able to break the weak arm-tackles that corners and a lot of safeties try to bring down a runner with. The more experience he gets behind our line, the more often this kid will be getting to the second level to do that.
Here's an example I not going to have an arguement on semantics. I said that there is a group out there that "seems to think that" not that people said that verbatim. I agree that Greene brings more power, physicality and fresher legs but the notion that he brings more speed to the line-up I think is taking the TJ hate to a level of making stuff up. Hate might be too strong a word but I hope people get what I mean w/o focusing on that word.
Agreed. He's a lower body back, a guy that does most of what he does because his legs are just that strong. He's in the same boat as guys like Ray Rice and Michael Turner. TJ to me is more of an upper body guy, who has legs built for quickness and a powerful upper body, like Adrian Peterson and Brandon Jacobs.
The big difference about Shonn Greene is as a RB, he tends to want to turn into the LB. Meaning instead of trying to hit a hole and shy away from the defender, he will drop his shoulder and look for contact. Its a bit punishing on his body, but he style is violent and aggressive, a complete 180 from the passive, dancing TJ. Oh, and Leon is our homerun hitter. Wish him a speedy recovery...
Agreed. My hate toward Jones is based on the fact that he gets stopped for 1 yard or less consistently. The Jets OL blows huge holes in teams every game and there are plenty of big gapping holes that NFL back can gain 8 to 20 yards out of. It's getting the 2 when you need 2 or the 3 when you need 3 that kills me about Jones. Greene looks like a guy who can get those yards and get the 8 to 20 yard runs out of the blow out holes our OL invariable gets a few times a game.
He does remind me of M Turner, and no one would argue that he isn't an explosive running back with his share of homeruns. Besides it's just fun to watch Greene run. He hits the holes so hard it's impossible not to pump your fist and cheer, whether It is a 3 yard gain or a 20. He's just exciting to watch.
There is a reason Shonn Greene is taking away so many touches from Thomas Jones, and it has nothing to do with TJ wearing down at the end of the year. I just wish Shonn would stop fumbling the damn ball..
