The holes were definitely larger, but it seems like he broke a lot of 2nd level tackles in the secondary to break free for long runs in '07. Maybe I'm thinking too simply, but he doesn't look like the same player to me.
"wils0646" wrote:
I think it was simple, stupid luck. He honestly doesn't look all that different to me this year. He's a one-cut-and-go back, which works with a (
functioning) ZBS-style attack. He's not overly strong and either runs too upright or gets so low he can't stay on his feet. He's not shifty and never was - same goes for speed. If he gets to the second level with a good head of steam, he can do some damage - but the stars have to align for that to happen. One thing he can absolutely
not do is improvise - if the play breaks down, dude is toast.
Granted, I wasn't ever that high on the guy - RB's are my 'specialty' (if I can say I have one), and pound-for-pound I'd rather see Jackson on the field if he could ever be healthy. He's got a more complete toolkit, I think.
Bottom line from my viewpoint is that Grant isn't an elite back, and you need one if you want to get production from your run game with a sub-par line. He's not a bad player or a bad guy, just a bad fit.