Backup HB Poll
 

I was just reading this article ([url]http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20040819-120936-9371r.htm[/url]) about Rock and was wondering who you guys think should be the number 2 guy on the team. Did you guys know Rock lost 20 pounds so he would look more like a HB, and was the first guy in the offseason to report to the coachs saying he wants a shot to make the team.

Last week he had 8 carries for 47 yards. Matty if you would be so kind as to creat a poll for me with Rock, Sultan M. Simon, Morton, and Betts.

My vote is going to be for Sultan M. Ive always liked him and think he offers the most potential for a second string guy.

Rock did have one of the best third down conversion rates last year, Simon has played well on special teams, Morton is going to be on the team no matter what and offers a threat as a receiving hb. Really I think the first man out is going to be Betts, and not Rock like a lot of people think it will be. Betts has brought nothing to the table. We need people that actually play.

I like Sultan too. After that I would put either Rock or Betts. Simon and Morton could be used to return kick offs and punts. Betts REALLY needs to step up these next two games, because I'm not sold on him being our primary backup. I don't care when if we drafted him in the 2nd round........he just can't stay healthy.

Damn after reading that article, now I have a soft spot for Rock. LOL.

This is a tough call right now.

Betts [i]should[/i] be the guy, but as usual he's banged up and has missed a significant amount of camp. He really needs to get out there and prove himself.

Cartwright has looked ok but seems to be pressing a bit to me. He's a bubble guy.

McCullough sure has the physical skills, whether the staff would trust him enough to be the #2 guy is yet to be seen.

Simon and Morton are special teamers all the way, but I think we'll see Morton get some snaps in third down situations.

I guess I'm going with Betts for now, but like I said he really needs to step it up and get on the field.

damn 20 lbs in 7 days?

He must have been doing some serious low carb

Yeah after reading that it's really hard to not pull for this guy

Isnt Thrash going to be returnign kicks with Morton once the season starts? To be Simon and Betts are going to be the two with new jobs on other teams soon.

i honestly dont see why everyone likes sultan so much. all he has is speed, whenever ive seen him play against anything besides the backups backups backup, he doesnt get any yards. betts, mostly because of his rookie year, and his high draft pick, are the reason i chose him. after betts, its rock to me, then morton, simon, and then mccolouch

So far I haven't seen Thrash returing kicks, it looks to be Simon and Morton.

Has anyone noticed Thrash returning kicks? I didn't see the Panthers game.

[QUOTE=Big C]i honestly dont see why everyone likes sultan so much. all he has is speed, whenever ive seen him play against anything besides the backups backups backup, he doesnt get any yards. betts, mostly because of his rookie year, and his high draft pick, are the reason i chose him. after betts, its rock to me, then morton, simon, and then mccolouch[/QUOTE]

Mccullough has done more in the preseason than anyone you mentioned....except for maybe rock. Not only does he have speed, but he's a good receiver out of the backfield too. Betts would probably be the favorite if he wasn't injured all the time. I'm just going by what I've seen on the field. Mccullough has been the most productive in my opinion.

I think Mike Sellers needs to get some more reps. He has the size and speed that you recall on the 1999 team with Larry Centers and Skip Hicks. I see Rock as a 1st down back but I'm not sure I want him in there on 3rd and 4 or 7. Betts would be my favorite, but he obviously has fragile bones and ligaments because he fractured his arm in the first game last year. I really like John Simon. He reminds me of Brian Mitchell. He's trying to do everything he can to contribute to the team.

I'll go with Rock. As a backup, I think he would be soild. I think Sultan and Morton are right there too. Simon dosent really impress me too much, although hes strong on specials. Betts is proboly the best RB out of all of them, but I'm pretty fed up with him, he just cant get on the feild. I think we might have to take out the scissors and go ( Snip Snip Snip )

I like Rock or Betts if he gets healthy cuz they r the only 2, maybe Simon as well, who could really be considered a bit of a different style runner than portis and that's usually what the backup needs to be. I still think Betts has a load of talent but can he get and stay healthy to show it is the question. If he can and does, then Gibbs will have a good 1-2-3-4 punch with Portis, Betts/Rock, and Morton.

I think Betts will take the job once he gets healthy, provided he can stay that way. I like Rock too though, so I wouldn't be surprised if he takes the job. Simon has also looked impressive in that he seems to be doing whatever he can to stick with the team. Both him and Rock have looked good on special teams, which as we all know, Gibbs will definitely notice. Of course, Morton is a lock to make the team as a returner, and will be good as a change-up, but not the #2 RB. That leaves McCollough who I see as a "poor man's Portis", which may unfortunately make him the odd man out. I bet they try to sign him to the practice squad, but another team picks him up (Miami?).

McCollough looks more like a Candate clone i am really not sold on him. Simon however could be a valble addition especially returing kicks . I thought Thrash was brought in as a primary PR leaving Morton more time to concentrate on KR giving us more options on ST and freeing up both players for a bigger role on offenive duties.

Betts should not necessarly be written off because of injuries just yet HB do have tough careers but he seems to have bad luck injuries ones which are not related to position or conditioning but just seem to happen. It would be a shame if a guy with his talent ended up leaving football without making an impact but it has happened before. it would be a bigger shame if we gave up on him before he could make in impact however... rember Steven Davis was a skin 4 years before he came on to the scene.. though there again he wasn't a second round pick....

betts has been in juried too much, he may be the best option at #2, but he's gotta be ready to play.

I picked simon, he's looked good in training camp and decent in the games, if i had to bet, i'd say he and scott are guys that make the team... i'm not a fan of sultan, and i didn't really think that morton was that good as an HB last year.

i hope that Cooley gets the job as starting hback. im sure he'll play a lot either way, and there will be atleast one more te in most of the time.

Sultan of Swat baby! I watched him play his entire collegiate career and he just needs a shot (he's not a Trung copy, believe me).

rock has the best football name in the game right now. he's got the carts to carry the rock wright

I've been saying since the 2nd preseason game last year... SULTAN McCULLOUGH!!! He was a national track STAR at USC (Incredible track team history)... and he has good hands... he is my man and I am not jumping off his bandwagon anytime soon...

Well I don't know how many more chances Betts should get. This guy is just never healthy. Wouldn't surprise me at all if the Skins just go ahead and cut him

John Simon is really working hard this summer to be on an NFL roster I just don't think it's going to be ours

Sultan looks to have a very promising future but I can see the Redskins giving him another year on the practice squad in order to fill his roster spot with another position, offensive line maybe?

So I guess based on this poll that narrows my choices down to Rock or Chad. From a pure running standpoint I think Rock is the better choice but I really doubt the Skins are going to leave Chad hanging (bada-boom! had to dust off some serious cobwebs for the 2000 election joke, be sure to tip your waitress). Rock is sort of like our modern day Keith Griffin and Morton can fill the Joe Washington/Kelvin Bryant role

joe washington had a good football name too heh..

[QUOTE=smootsmack]

I think Rock is the better choice but I really doubt the Skins are going to leave Chad hanging (bada-boom! had to dust off some serious cobwebs for the 2000 election joke, be sure to tip your waitress). [/QUOTE]

:laughing-

you guys are starting to narrow it down to much, lets go ahead and sign mitchell and spice up the competition a little.

And more importantly, BRING BACK THE HB PASS!!!

1. Portis
2. McCullough
3. Betts
4. Cartwright
5. Morton

McCullough provides electricity. He can break it the distance at any time, he can catch the ball, he's tough and I think he can block too but I'm not sure how his performance grades out there. He's my choice.

Cartwright and Betts are good players to be there on special teams and who you know will provide production as runners. Coach Byner thinks Betts can really sparkle too, and so he may be someone who will shine given the chance. Morton is an obvious return artist and 3rd down back who will be dynamite running away from the linebackers.

We've got it made at running back. How could you ask for a better group?

One interesting point from the washington post news letter was talking about the WR battle but could have implications here too is that Gibbs is taking into account the durrability of players and thier willingness to play through minor injuries. With that in mind I have to re think Betts survival chances come August 31st, I still think however Betts has the most potential after Portis in the RB group IF he can ever get himself healthy.

It also makes me think it was a good move to trade our and pick away from this and next year for Portis and Cooley respectivly because with the exception of Smoot most of our recent @ rounders are injured...

problem at hback is that portis is awesome and then there's a huge drop off, our 2nd place back isn't a duckett or a vikes type 2nd place... after portis i don't think we really have a good running back... betts could hold up for a game or two maybe, but maybe not... and i'm not a fan of sultan until i see him break some plays on 1st stringers, which hasn't happened yet... so far in preseason with 3rd string guys he's had a couple decent plays, but its not like he's running all over those guys...

for comparision, i'd say that mccants has been doing the best vs 3rd stringers... scott and rock have looked good against them too.

Who's the best blocker of the bunch? Can SUltan block? I know Rock has had some trouble in the past (though that may be Spurrier's fault...), so maybe Simon has a shot?

Anyway, I voted for Betts. Maybe he'll read the poll and buck up and play!

EXCELLENT point, JW. with Jansen gone, we could use the best PASS BLOCKER as the second HB we have. their running ability is all pretty comparable.

i wish Rock hadn't lost the weight, we coulda used a solid 3rd and 1 guy..

rock had good tackles as a gunner, maybe he's improved? haven't been watching blocking though... portis can probably block though ;) hmm, maybe sean taylor can play hback, i mean, its not like he's doing a whole lot when the defense is off the field anyways...

like I've said all along, tell betts to take his tampax out and get on the field, he could easily be the backup, but you gotta play if you want the position and he hasn't, so that why I chose rock, hes a hard runner and he makes plays on special teams, as for sultan he has to do some damage against a 1st team defense

Simon is making a case to get on this team. Betts better get on that field, or he's a gonner.

I voted for Rock only because he has the most experience among all the other RBs. And you know how Gibbs will favor experience.

I also agree with JW and That Guy -- John Simon is really making some noise. He appears to be a dependable receiver out of the backfield, and he's seeing lots of action on special teams. He would be my second choice.

At 5-11, and 205 pounds, Simon has the exact same size as Portis. Ideally, you'd want some sort of variety with regard to physical stature at RB. We don't have a prototypical "big back" on this team. Betts comes the closest, but honestly, I don't see how anyone can choose him because nobody's seen ANYTHING from him this season. I think that Gibbs specifically mentioned being able to play through injuries speaks volumes about Betts' future with this team. He'd better be ready to play St. Louis, or else.

I really don't know how Chad Morton fits in. Obviously we signed him for his abilities at returning kicks. But Gibbs hasn't used him much as a third down back, but a lot of that is because Gibbs isn't tipping his hand with game planning. I'd like to see Morton as the 3rd down guy, and I think that's how we'll see him, along with his duties as kick returner.

Sultan McCollugh seems to be everybody's sentimental favorite, though I don't know why. He just hasn't shown that much. It seems like he'll be joining Scott Cloman as the perennial training camp/practice squad player. I don't see him making into the final roster.

mccolough is leading the way? how? hes never taken a real snap be4. in preseason he has one decent run and then hes stuffed against 3rd stringers! hes fast, thats it. really confused, explain.

i dont see the mcollough thing either... i voted for simon cause he's done well and he can play other positions (KR/PR, RB, does he do gunner? seems like he might)... but rock wins if you're just measuring running performance alone (betts doesn't count, injuries), though rock's had some bad blocking last season and he's not that fast...

Sultan is like a modern day Babe Laufenberg. Remember him? Used to be like a cult hero in the preseason then we wouldn't hear from him again during the season.

I think Simon and Rock have both passed Sultan on the depth chart

[QUOTE=arrington_QBkiller]like I've said all along, tell betts to take his tampax out and get on the field, he could easily be the backup, but you gotta play if you want the position and he hasn't, so that why I chose rock, hes a hard runner and he makes plays on special teams, as for sultan he has to do some damage against a 1st team defense[/QUOTE]

lol, I dont know how betts got so many votes. You guys are all complaining about the votes for McCullah, but atleast hes been in there playing.