There has to be a balancing act with this sort of approach. On the one hand you need guys to get in a rhythm, on the other hand you want to keep them fresh for 4 quarters, 16 games. I can see this helping if/when injuries occur, you have someone who’s already been in the fire stepping in.

The Giants can do it. So can the Panthers. Tennessee can do it. Anyway this is the way it will go.

a couple lines later in the same piece:

In response to a follow-up question, McCoy said the team is willing to be a bit flexible on it plan at tailback if a hot hand clearly emerges during the game.

still though, i like systems that have a feature back, a bulldozer for short yardage, and maybe a speedy scat guy and that’s about it. i just don’t think having four or five “situational backs” every game lets anyone get in the groove.

I think you need to have a primary back and secondary back, trying to play four backs is basically asking for inconsistency, part of the line ability to block is they get used to how backs will react, where to take the block, how fast they hit the hole and how quick they can attack the second level. For the running game to be effective, they need to know who the main guys are and not have 4 or 5 guys through the game.

First, I don’t think we should expect to see much of Hillis as RB until Larsen returns to the lineup. They won’t want to risk injuring our only remaining FB by overusing him as RB. Second, I think it’s obvious that Moreno is not 100 percent yet. When he is, he’ll start getting the ball more and more, and essentially become our primary back.

By the second half of the season, barring injury, I suspect that Moreno will be getting 75 percent of the carries, and Hillis/Buck 25 percent.

it’s not any different. the broncos have been doing this for years, which is why it’s always a bad idea to draft a broncos RB in fantasy football!

this goes all the way back to mike anderson and tatum bell

Among 20 running plays, I counted 11 zone-blocked plays and 9 man-blocked plays. Buckhalter had good success both ways, and LaMont Jordan had a nice run on a zone play. Peyton Hillis had his only carry behind man-blocking, which I think suits him best, and Knowshon Moreno ran both ways, having more success in man-blocking, which didn’t have him running sideways, which was largely his downfall in his underwhelming debut.

It’s about even, and it appears some players may be more adept at one than the other. Key word is “versatility”. Imagine, in the classic Shanahan switch-up style, the O line going man, man, man, ZONE. D lines gotta hate that.

The o-line hasn’t consistently opened up holes for the RBs, and you can’t blame them.

who can we blame? chicago’s wide receivers?

I think his comment about the hot hand further down in the thread is revealing. If Know comes alive, he’s gonna be the guy. That’s probably as much the coaches’ hope as it is ours. He clearly has a ways to go to adjust to NFL speed, though.

because other than hillis, all of our RBs are seasoned vets with injured pasts