Adam Carriker accuses Redskins of trying to drive Alfred Morris FA price down

[30gut]

I think without a doubt that NFL teams, and in this case the Redskins, phase players out.

I don't think the phasing out of Alfred is the cause of the running games problems. I think the run game as whole stinks. From gameplan, to playcalling to execution and it effects both RBs.

But it was clear (to me at least) from the outset of the season the organization planned to phase Alfred out for Matt Jones. Hence a perennial 1,000 back and 2 x probowler shares carries with a rookie w/ fumblitis. Starts the season off with 25 carries at a 4.8 ypc clip for 121 yards. Yet over the course of the season never again has 25 carries. And oh by the way, w/ 28 career TDs (mostly in the goalline) cedes the goalline carries.

I don't know why its a big deal to admit *shrugs*.... wasn't there a thread on this earlier?

[Redskins247]

Well I'll state the obvious and say it will really suck if he leaves and goes to dallass and rips it up. They have a great O-line that's getting wasted right now.

[Schneed10]

This is completely asinine. Anybody who buys into this doesn't understand football and doesn't watch the team closely. Morris does not have speed. He does hit holes hard, and if he gets through the point of attack without getting hit, then he builds up a nice head of steam and is a bull after contact.

But when the line fails to block in the interior (Long & LeRib) then Morris deals with penetration and gets met at the line before he has a chance to build up that head of steam that he needs.

He did well with Griffin in 2012 because the read option gave him the opportunity to get two yards past the line of scrimmage without contact. He did well in the Rams game this year because Steiger and Lauvao were healthy and blocking the interior while Scherff got to the 2nd level. So again, he didn't get contact until two yards past the line of scrimmage.

Jones is getting the carries because he reaches top speed more quickly and can take better advantage of smaller holes. It's a matter of circumstance. Morris is still a good back if you can keep guys off of him.

It's not about the RB, it's about the blocking. Whether it's Morris or Jones, either way, we're good to go if the blocking paves the way.

[Defensewins]

Clearly Carriker has not been watching the games. He looks at the stat sheet, sees a few highlights and make a baseless accusation. The O-line has had injuries all season and cannot open running lanes consistently. That is why we are running less.

[Chico23231]

This premise is so dumb of driving down the price, clearly the team is phasing him out.

In regards to the running game, Alfmo isn't the reason its failing...more of a small piece of it. Scheme, commitment, blocking, fumbling, and overall production all issues.

[MTK]

Morris is the one killing his value.

[A10sROCK]

AM production this year has deteriorated significantly because of the deterioration of the OL, as key players have been hurt. Also the scheme has changed and this has also negatively effected his numbers. Unfortunately the life span of a RB derogates quickly in the NFL unless you are truly elite. Alfred Morris is not elite. Finally the team drafted late draft pick RB [= cheap] who is doing better with this scheme and our lousy run offense.

Alfred Morris will end up some where else for a good contract next season and I wish him well.

[Schneed10]

Generally speaking, RB is the position most dependent upon the players around him in all of football. That's why they're not worth much on the market. You can find capable backs in the 6th round who, if blocked well for, can run for 1200 yards no problem.

There's only a few guys worthy of being high draft picks at RB, who clearly separate themselves and create extra yards on their own; Peterson, Gurley. There aren't many.

We need more depth along the line so that if we lose Steiger and Lauvao we don't seize up. Who cares who our RB is.

[NoCalHail]

Carriker is just coming off like a former play with a grudge to carry out.

The first thing he is ignoring is that the run blocking this season has been downright poor. No way around that one.

The second is the contrast in style. Morris has below average speed for the RB position. His strength has always been running sideways until a cut back lane opened up and then hit the cut back lane hard and go.

While Matt Jones hasn't exactly lit the world on fire either, you can tell the difference that speed makes in the way Callahan wants to using the running game. There have been a handful of rushes by Jones where the only reason he got good yardage was because of his ability to accelerate through the hole before defenders closed in.

What is happening to Morris happens to NFL players all the time, a team in transition, changing schemes, sometimes they favor different players on the roster. Add that to the fact that the run blocking in general has been awful.

Not to mention on multiple occasions Gruden has said that he will stick without whoever has the hot hand during stretches of the games.

[skinsfan69]

I don't think the Redskins are the kind of organization to be shy about paying someone after a contract year. They paid Kerrigan. They paid Trent. It simply comes down to Gruden not liking Morris. He didn't draft him and has no loyalty to him. These things happen all the time when there are coaching changes.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

I don't think the Redskins are the kind of organization to be shy about paying someone after a contract year. They paid Kerrigan. They paid Trent. It simply comes down to Gruden not liking Morris. He didn't draft him and has no loyalty to him. These things happen all the time when there are coaching changes.

I think that simplifies it too much. It's not that he just doesn't like Morris, it's that Morris can't excel with the line and TE executing the run blocking like it currently is. Morris gets 1 yard when they play like this, Jones gets 3.

If the line blocks well then anybody can get 5 yards per carry.

The fact of the matter is Morris is just OK. He's not great. Look at his career yards per carry when Griffin isn't playing (ie threat of the read option isn't there). He's at 4.0, maybe even lower than that now. That's completely average in this league.

We have an affinity for Morris because we all remember 2012 but circumstances change. I'm fine if they resign him but he's not worth more than a couple million per season. They could easily draft another to pair with Jones in the 3rd round this year and we'd be more than fine at RB.

If we want the run game to work we need better interior blocking and a TE that can actually block without holding. Morris is irrelevant.

[MTK]

I'd let AM walk, go with Jones and another draftee next year. With his age and mileage he's due to break down sooner rather than later anyway.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by MTK

I'd let AM walk, go with Jones and another draftee next year. With his age and mileage he's due to break down sooner rather than later anyway.

Agree. I'd rather use the cap space for MLB, safety, CB or just about any other position.

It's very easy to hit on a 3rd or 4th round RB. I'd rather use my money on another position.

[JoeRedskin]

Several years back, I was the guy who said it was okay to spend money on London Fletcher one last time b/c he was a leader, even if his play had deteriorated, his intangibles made up for it. I was wrong.

As much as I really, really like AM as a the person he appears to be off the field and the teammate he appears to be on it, his play simply does not justify anything special in terms of a contract. To a certain degree his like other backs (and is perhaps the last of them) who have done well in the Shanahan system only to be exposed as to pedestrian when they move on to a different system. Here, instead of him leaving the system, the system left him.

I have a real affinity for the guy but, regardless, this league is all about production on the field. While AM's character are terrific, production on the field has to be the bottom line and, generally, anything else good is gravy.

[Chico23231]

we all know that cousins and alfmo are besties on the team, do we really want to break up that union? Arent we afraid Cousins might sulk a little bit? Cousins' ball-washers might have a concern