Subtle Running Back Shuffle
 

So one thing that has kind of slipped under the radar is the benching of Evan Royster.

It's a subtle move, but Shanahan has benched Royster as the 3rd down back in favor of Morris, making Morris the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd down back.

Is this temporary? Will Keiland Wiliams eventually assume the 3rd down back role?

I don't know.

But I'm not sure how I feel about this move, on the one hand kudos to Mr. Morris for improving enough as a pass blocker that the staff trusts him on 3rd downs. But at the same time, I'm worried that we're going to wear Morris out.

Re: Subtle Running Back Shuffle
 

morris is an animal, i don't fear for him.
royster can get the job done.
haven't seen williams play in awhile.

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WHy has Royster regressed? I think that's the bigger issue here.

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Maybe Ryan Grant comes back? :D

I've never been a fan of Royster. Looks slow in comparison to Morris.

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[quote=NC_Skins;965631]WHy has Royster regressed? I think that's the bigger issue here.[/quote]his heart is tied to penn state, once all this kid touching business blows over, he'll get his mojo back

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[quote=DynamiteRave;965633]Maybe Ryan Grant comes back? :D

I've never been a fan of Royster. Looks slow in comparison to Morris.[/quote] rather have tshimanga biakabutuka, or maybe ki-jana carter.

Re: Subtle Running Back Shuffle
 

Royster really looked solid last year, so I'm somewhat disappointed it appears he has regressed. I kinda hope he earns the 3rd down role back, because I share similar concerns about wearing down Morris. I love Morris' style, but bangers like him never have long careers.

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Royster and Helu were solid last year, injuries got the best them. I think Royster is the type of player you need to give to at least 15 times to get him going.

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Gotta think its more to do with Royster's blocking. He missed 2 huge blocks in the Carolina game...the forth and goal he got dominated trying to block for RG3 by a small corner getting pushed back and then he whiff on a 3rd down blitz pick up which RG3 took a shot.

If you cant block as a 3rd down back...thats half your value. Miss Tortis ability in that department.

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Royster didn't impress me last year.

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I guess my bigger point is going into training camp it was Hightower, Helu, Royster and Morris.

Now it's just Morris? I understand there were injuries, but something doesn't add up

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Royster is bad and slow. Plus RG3 is really our second RB

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We can probably count on Shanny drafting another late round RB next year.

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SS is right. There is something un-Shanny-like going on here. There is no sense of a backfield committee at all.

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Morris is the man but it'd be nice to have a Speedster at Backup

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[quote=skinsfaninok;965669]Morris is the man but it'd be nice to have a Speedster at Backup[/quote]

Yeah it would be nice to have a guy to dump it off to that could do some damage.

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[quote=Mattyk;965673]Yeah it would be nice to have a guy to dump it off to that could do some damage.[/quote]

How about Helu?

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[quote=skinsfaninok;965665]Royster is bad and slow. Plus RG3 is really our second RB[/quote]

And Banks is the "speedster".

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[quote=SFREDSKIN;965676]How about Helu?[/quote]

He's gotta stay healthy. He doesn't help us on IR.

That's a big issue with him.

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Any one have any inside info on Grant?

My guess was he couldn't get the option game down???..

The couple of plays he got the ball he seemed as though he had some burst coming through the line. He had such a brief appearance on the roster that it is hard to say why didn't deserve a little more time to win the spot over Royster.

BTW I like what Morris does, but getting a guy in every once in a while that a team needs to worry about some, would save Morris down the stretch.

How bad was Hightower re-injured and is he even close to healthy?

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I'll agree Royster is slow, but he always fights for those extra yards and falls forward, not backwards

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I just hope Helu or Royster can stay healthy and become a reliable sub for Morris. The days of giving the ball to one RB all game, are over. I don't want Morris getting hurt from having to play tired and taking too many shots.

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[url=http://m.washingtontimes.com/blog/redskins-watch/2012/nov/19/alfred-morris-replaced-evan-royster-redskins-third/]Alfred Morris replaced Evan Royster as the Redskins' third-down back Sunday - Washington Times[/url]

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Maybe this is more about Morris earning the chance rather than Royster losing it.

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[quote=Mattyk;965761]Maybe this is more about Morris earning the chance rather than Royster losing it.[/quote]

That's what it sounds like to me. Morris wants to be a complete back..Shanahan thinks he's special and gave him a shot.

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[quote=Chico23231;965646]Gotta think its more to do with Royster's blocking. He missed 2 huge blocks in the Carolina game...the forth and goal he got dominated trying to block for RG3 by a small corner getting pushed back and then he whiff on a 3rd down blitz pick up which RG3 took a shot.

If you cant block as a 3rd down back...thats half your value. Miss Tortis ability in that department.[/quote]

Bingo!

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It may have something to do with Morris becoming more effective in pass protection with practice and game experience so that he is better than Royster in that dept. Royster has been OK but not great generally, and as noted earlier, struggled in the Carolina game.

Morris could become a great pass protector with his strength, attitude and love of contact. The next Portis in this regard?

Morris is great but it would be nice to have another back that can CATCH the ball
I don't know how Morris's hands are or how Many he caught in college but he's only caught 6 balls this yr and that's pitiful for a top nfl rb

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Let's get Kelvin Bryant out of retirement.

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[quote=SmootSmack;965656]I guess my bigger point is going into training camp it was Hightower, Helu, Royster and Morris.

Now it's just Morris? I understand there were injuries, but something doesn't add up[/quote]

Shanahan walks through Reston Town Center and bumps into 3 guys every night that will give you 4 yards per carry. He devalues running backs and it's entirely likely that Alf is getting the rock 100% of the time to increase his trade value, ala Clinton Portis in Denver.

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[quote=SmootSmack;965656]I guess my bigger point is going into training camp it was Hightower, Helu, Royster and Morris.

Now it's just Morris? I understand there were injuries, but something doesn't add up[/quote]

Morris has surprised everyone, including Shanahan it seems.

Shanahan has gone with the committee approach in the past, but if he has a guy he believes can carry the load he's not afraid of feeding that guy til he drops. I think perhaps that's what we're seeing.

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Has Royster been healthy? I thought that was an issue coming into the season.

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[quote=Mattyk;965815]Morris has surprised everyone, including Shanahan it seems.

Shanahan has gone with the committee approach in the past, but if he has a guy he believes can carry the load he's not afraid of feeding that guy til he drops. I think perhaps that's what we're seeing.[/quote]

Yeah. I would go with this. Read an article where MS said Morris is a "special back". Not sure I heard him ever say that about Royster. He may have liked Royster, but not sure he ever was convinced he was a workhorse.

Helu and Hightower got injured seriously enough to take them completely out of the picture so it really came down to Morris/Royster and Morris just went into beast mode. Next year, I think Helu comes back and makes the perfect complement to him.

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[quote=Monksdown;965793]Shanahan walks through Reston Town Center and bumps into 3 guys every night that will give you 4 yards per carry. He devalues running backs and it's entirely likely that [B]Alf is getting the rock 100% of the time to increase his trade value, ala Clinton Portis in Denver[/B][B].[/B][/quote]

That makes no sense at all. In Morris, we have a RB who should have a 1,000+ yard rookie season, will only get better, and probably has many productive years ahead of him and you think he's being showcased for a trade? Despite Shanahan's stellar record in finding and developing RB's, players like Morris don't grow on trees. Adding to that, we don't have a proven back behind him. No, he won't be traded but Shanny will add some more RB bodies to help him next season.

Also, I strongly agree with those who think we need to add an explosive third down back. RGIII needs more weapons. With a couple more explosive players, our offense could be spectacular.

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[quote=los panda;965635]his heart is tied to penn state, once all this kid touching business blows over, he'll get his mojo back[/quote]

Are you kidding, Penn State is a RB factory! Even Royster, Blair Thomas, Ki-Jana Carter...look at that pedigree.


Wait, wrong side of the ball.

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[quote=Mattyk;965815]Morris has surprised everyone, including Shanahan it seems.

Shanahan has gone with the committee approach in the past, but if he has a guy he believes can carry the load he's not afraid of feeding that guy til he drops. I think perhaps that's what we're seeing.[/quote]

Yeah, I'm not so sure I agree with what he's doing. But we'll see how it plays out

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[quote=SmootSmack;965828]Yeah, I'm not so sure I agree with what he's doing. But we'll see how it plays out[/quote]

Why not? It seems to be effective. Are you concerned with Morris blocking? To me, Royster just seemed to regress. He and Morris seemed to be similar backs but, to me, Morris has just been better. When Royster has had his oppotunities, he just hasn't shown me much.

Are you sleeping with Royster and afraid he may be cut and you may lose your inside source??

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Smoot's concern is wearing Morris down in this critical time in the season. Not having a back capable of getting Morris out of the game for a few plays to be able to keep him fresh. He is young but his body has never been through a grueling 16 game NFL season, and there has to be a worry there that he gets to many reps to the point of injury or just flat out fatigue.

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I get the fatigue thing. At the same time, it's not like Royster has been cut. It's going to be more of the traditional primary RB offense. When Morris gets winded he sticks his hand up. In addition (I would hope), Shanny probably has Morris on a "pitch count" and certainly can give him a breather for a series or two.

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[quote=JoeRedskin;965834]Why not? It seems to be effective. Are you concerned with Morris blocking? To me, Royster just seemed to regress. He and Morris seemed to be similar backs but, to me, Morris has just been better. When Royster has had his oppotunities, he just hasn't shown me much.

Are you sleeping with Royster and afraid he may be cut and you may lose your inside source??[/quote]

My cousin's neighbor dog walks for this lady whose 8th grade history teacher is Evan Royster's aunt's sister-in-law's life partner...without this source I got nothing!