I'm just throwing this out there for discussion, but if you look at the strong playoff teams and the rest of the top-ten offenses, almost all of them have two running backs that split time, as opposed to relying on a single workhorse RB to carry the full load.
New England: Dillon and Maroney
Indy: Addai and Rhodes
Chicago: Jones and Benson
New Orleans: McAllister and Bush
Philly: Westbrook and Buckhalter
Then there are the teams which rely heavily on their feature back, but have a backup who brings something different to the table than their feature back, and whom they employ in certain situations whether or not the main back is winded. San Diego (LT and Turner), Giants (Tiki/Jacobs) and Cowboys (Jones/Barber) are examples of this.
My point is that there seems to be a trend among the more effective offenses in the league to employ alternative weapons at the RB spot, and thus get more out of that position. Whereas I see us with two principal backs who offer very similar talent sets, with Mcgahee being just slightly more explosive. Thus there's usually little reason to put Thomas in the game unless McGahee is hurt or winded.
While I see Thomas as a phenomenal safety valve in the event McGahee gets hurt, I can't help but wonder if we'd have a more versatile offense with a quick, explosive kind of backup in the Reggie Bush/Leon Washington mold as an alternative to McGahee's skill set. Or similarly, if it would be smart to dump McGahee in favor of quicker, more explosive back and keep Thomas for shorter yardage situations where we need someone to bang between the tackles.
I guess I'm just looking for ways to see more weapons on offense, outside of the standard upgrade-the-#2 receiver tactics.
Thoughts?
New England: Dillon and Maroney
Indy: Addai and Rhodes
Chicago: Jones and Benson
New Orleans: McAllister and Bush
Philly: Westbrook and Buckhalter
Then there are the teams which rely heavily on their feature back, but have a backup who brings something different to the table than their feature back, and whom they employ in certain situations whether or not the main back is winded. San Diego (LT and Turner), Giants (Tiki/Jacobs) and Cowboys (Jones/Barber) are examples of this.
My point is that there seems to be a trend among the more effective offenses in the league to employ alternative weapons at the RB spot, and thus get more out of that position. Whereas I see us with two principal backs who offer very similar talent sets, with Mcgahee being just slightly more explosive. Thus there's usually little reason to put Thomas in the game unless McGahee is hurt or winded.
While I see Thomas as a phenomenal safety valve in the event McGahee gets hurt, I can't help but wonder if we'd have a more versatile offense with a quick, explosive kind of backup in the Reggie Bush/Leon Washington mold as an alternative to McGahee's skill set. Or similarly, if it would be smart to dump McGahee in favor of quicker, more explosive back and keep Thomas for shorter yardage situations where we need someone to bang between the tackles.
I guess I'm just looking for ways to see more weapons on offense, outside of the standard upgrade-the-#2 receiver tactics.
Thoughts?
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