Pretend you are the Skins' GM...

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Monkeydad

Wow, you really like to hear yourself type, don't you?

You are blatantly undervaluing and underestimating Torain. When healthy, he's an explosive runner who is capable of being a Top 15-20 RB in the league. Yes, I just said that. He's a young player, only 24. If he can overcome his early injury troubles and remain on the field for a few years, he'll be as valuable as Portis was for us.

Hightower was not brought here to be a #1 back. He has never held that role before and is not expected to here. He'll likely be a 3rd-down back because of his red zone success and his pass blocking abilities. With the loss or Portis, we needed a new RB who could block when needed. Hightower should fill that role on passing downs. Keiland Williams at FB should also help in that duty.

A Torain/Helu tandem is too valuable to break up for an aging cornerback. If we were to rely on a rookie and a timeshare back going foward, that's risky. Depth at RB, an injury-prone position is more important than acquiring a big name CB who would be marginally-better than other options like Grimes or even Wilson who we already have...without the risk of making a division rival stronger, again.

Also, you claim that the running game is some ancient form of play that has become obsolete...yet teams with strong running games like Baltimore, the Jets, Kansas City, Eagles, Giants and Texans are some of the stronger teams in the league. Even the Patriots ranked higher in rushing (9th) than passing (11th) last year. Rushing teams are not weak, outdated teams destined to failure as you claim.
NFL - Statistics by Team - Yahoo! Sports

First, you can't read. Because you're responding to points I never made. And you're doing that poorly.

No one ever said teams with strong rushing games don't do better than teams with weak rushing games. However, you've tried to prove that non-assertion correct, and did a horrible job, using team rushing YPG as evidence.

If you were better at reading, you might have tried to prove that Ryan Torain actually could contribute to a strong rushing team. You may have either found yourself to be wrong (unlikely), or you might have made a case based on some flimsy evidence and high on personal attacks (more likely).

Your case, in logical format:

1) Ryan Torain is just 24 years old.
2) Ryan Torain is capable being a Top 15 to Top 20 NFL runner
3) Ryan Torain can overcome early career injury troubles to become a top 15 to 20 runner.
4) Tim Hightower is being brought in to play on third downs, with Torain on first and second downs.

Conclusion:
5) If you break up a Helu/Torain tandem, your team will lose more because of it.

Points 3+4 kind of decrease the likelihood that you are right on Torain's upside. But I think you're biggest mistake is that you're treating Torain's 24 as young, without giving the same benefit of youth to the other RBs on the Redskins roster who don't have obvious injury issues. Torain is not younger than the average Redskins RB. And he is not likely to play 16 weeks on the Redskins roster this year.

Given all the above, it would seem foolish to hold him in higher regard than someone like Jeremy Jarmon, who was a third round draft pick and just 24 years old when Washington traded him this offseason. But on the difference of opinion regarding Torain's upside: to each their own.

I would just point out to reach upside, opportunity to do so must be abundant. As a Shanahan RB, I'm not sure why Torain would get enough opportunities to reach that upside while every other player rots on the bench.

An assertion I can make, all else equal: a Helu/Keiland tandem is stronger in both youth and ability than a Torain/Helu tandem.