The official Deshaun Foster thread....

Again, there is a difference between very good and great.

Dan is not great. Never has been. But Dan is very good, when healthy. Problem is, he's rarely healthy, at least over the course of a full season. So it's tough. He's never had the consistency to prove whether or not he is/could be great. You can't carve yourself a bust for Canton playing 11 games a year.

 

When healthy, which is hardly ever, he is top 5 MLB in the league.

 

No, he isn't. We actually went over this issue before you showed up, but statistical and anecdotal evidence both strongly indicate that Morgan is just ordinary even when healthy. He did have the huge game in the Super Bowl, but tons of plays throughout Super Bowl history have had huge games in that one contest while being ordinary throughout the rest of their career. Morgan's tackles per game number is actually slightly below average over the course of his career for a middle linebacker, and we've all noted that he has problems in coverage and isn't very good at filling a hole either. People simply thought of him as very good when healthy and never actually bothered to question it, but the more you look at the evidence, the more it's clear that Dan is just ordinary even when healthy. He's extraordinarily talented, but is just an ordinary performer.

And as for Foster, his numbers when healthy have also always been mediocre. As noted, he's never put up 100 against a good or even average defense. His overall ypc totals are also pretty ordinary.

 

Foster is in the wrong system and has been asked to run like a bruiser....

I would be interested in finding out the how the defense ranks with Morgan and with out. I may be wrong, but I think he sures up the entire LB squad.

 

I know this is supposed to be about Desaun, but during our Super Bowl year I thought I read that the Defensive Stats were hugely differant when he was in the game v/s when he wasnt. Going from memorie there and too maybe having added the players we have since then the there isnt a droppoff.

 

Cemantics are a bitch.

A better way to say what I was trying to say: Dan's talents are above average. I do agree that he does not play his run keys as well as he should. Not the best cover backer. He does pursue well, sometimes too well. He's always played tight, IMO. If he could amp it down a few, he would be all the wiser.

So, yes. I think that's a very fair assessment. Very talented, but a pedestrian performer who did not deserve the benefit of a lucrative extention.

As for Foster, his average YPC is, yes, average. I agree. I also agree that he has not put up 100 on a great defense. He's streaky. Very streaky. Regardless of the defense we were playing (and they were bad), DF still torched Atlanta with the playoffs on the line, and torched the Giants in a road playoff game. The offensive line deserves some credit on that too. Big part of the reason that he has not put up more 100 yard games is he's been splitting time with ol' country for the past three years. Had Foster not torn his knee in 2002, it's feasable to say that Davis would have found work elsewhere in 2003.

The numbers haven't been there, and the injuries are troubling. But there is something about way that Foster runs, his burst, his determination and his ability to avoid tackles that makes him, IMO, something special.

One way or another, we will find out.

 

He's really not. Foster has been very consistent about not being good against any defense that isn't terrible. Granted, he wasn't as bad as a one-legged Stephen Davis, but he wasn't all that much better either. I don't know if it's the injuries or what, but I just haven't been as impressed with his supposed talent lately as I was coming out of UCLA. As I noted about the long touchdown, Foster just doesn't seem as fast or explosive as he was coming out of college, but I will give him credit for breaking more tackles this year (albeit against terrible defenses).

 

So, we lose Foster, and we should assume that Davis is heading to the waiver wire/retirement. Where do we go from there, if it all plays out that way. Do we seek a HB in FA? Do we draft a back with the mindset of starting him right away?

If Foster walks, I like Chester Taylor from Baltimore. 5-11, 213. Career YPC average of 4.3. Averaged 25 receptions a year. Good hands, strong runner. Fumbled 8 times in 4 years of PT duty, so I guess that would be a concern. I would love to see this guy in a Panther uniform.

 

I don't get someone saying, when healthy Dan Morgan isn't a very good if not upper echelon MLB. Did they check out his tackles in Super Bowl XXXVIII. 25 or so tackles in the biggest game? Doesn't that constitute greatness?

 

You can do one of two things against terrible defenses: Look average, or look like a superstar. They were bad, but he did a nice job of making them look as bad as they were. He took advantage of them like a cheap whore.

Any thoughts on how Foster would have fared last Sunday behind Seattle's line, because I think he would have gone for 150.