I love how we can stick a fork in LT already.
Was he washed up his rookie year when he only ran for 3.6 yard a carry? Or 04' when he can for 3.9 a carry?
No, instead he embarked on a MVP year in 06'...
I think it is important to keep in mind that LT decline started when Norv took over the team.. and started to shift from a power running team to a balanced WC type offense.. one in which they utilized a weapon in open space more in Spores..
Do I think LT is a featured back at this point? No.
Do I think LT could help a team that already has a back in place but needs some depth. Yes I do.
And I personally think LT would be a dynamite back in a shared role.
Concerns I would have before signing LT would be...
Contract demands..
and more importantly does he understand he is a #2 and not become an issue because he is a 2.
If I have doubts about either.. it is a no go.
But color me as a person that has little doubt that LT would help a ball club if the above conditions were right.
"pack93z" wrote:
Nearly every single elite RB takes the same arc of decline.
Emmitt Smith - Had a very mediocre last year with the Cowboys. Then, with the Cardinals, he had an awfull 2.8 ypc in his first year and a very mediocre 3.5 the next. He just looked done. A random rookie would've done better.
Shaun Alexander - Had an 1800 yard season, but hit the wall hard after that. He didn't have another 1000 yard season, had one season with a 3.6 average, the next he dropped to 3.5. Got signed by the Skins and had a whopping 11 attempts for 2.2 ypc.
O.J. Simpson - Had a 1500 yard, 5.2 YPC season, but followed it up with a 557 yard, 4.4 YPC season. The Bills saw his decline coming and got rid of him. He rushed for 600 and 450 yards the next two season, getting a 3.7 and 3.8 average yards per carry, respectively.
Jim Taylor - Even our own legendary RB hit the wall hard. He went from a 1169 yards, 5.0 YPC season straigth to a 730 yard, 3.5 YPC season. He had another mediocre season and then finished it off with the Saints, rushing for 390 yards and compiling a 3.0 average.
Curtis Martin - Had a 1697 yard season in 2004 and went to a 735 season in 2005. His YPC dropped from 4.6 to 3.3. He did the smart thing and retired in 2007, after missing the entire 2006 due to injuries.
These are all guys who didn't go out on top. They kept their careers going as long as they could, even while they where far from their former form.
If we pick him up, he'll be to us what Alexander was to the Redskins. What OJ was to the 49ers. What Taylor was to the Saints. Any random rookie could've done about just as much as those guys.
And it's not just a statisical thing. Watch some Chargers games from last years. The only thing he still does is plunge into the end-zone. Apart from that, he looked pretty bad.