Slaton to [Work More with the First Team]!
 

I JUST got done watching the Texans/Saints game and I said to myself, "Slaton's not here to be a special little third down back. That guy's goal is to start."

Well, he's starting against the Cowgirls...

I'd give you a link but for some reason the page doesn't come up. It's in the Chronicle.

You know who else is gonna be a ProBowler? Duane "shut your mouth" Brown. And that's right, I insinuated Slaton will be a PBer too.

I'm excited to see what Slaton can do with the 1st stringers, but even if he does really well, I'm not sure I want him to be "the guy" at RB unless he just really goes crazy on the field. I'd prefer to keep it by committee to help save a guy like Slaton from injury and from getting run down. But I am very optimistic for his future.

As for Brown, so far he has looked pretty promising. I'll be interested to see what he does against a really big DE with rushing skills, but overall he has impressed so far.

i'm on the thought that slaton is a perfect 2 in a 1-2 punch. also i heard that he wasn't starting but is just taking reps with the 1st team next game.

i forgot who it was but someone said slaton is the back to use when you open the running game using the pass, not when you're trying to establish the run. i thought that was pretty smart.

Yeah, I updated the thread title... Kubiak said on the 610AM radio show yesterday that Slaton isn't starting per se, but that he would be working more with the first team on Friday.

Whelp, I haven't caught Slatonmania, yet, but I like what I've seen so far. He's been running against 2nd and 3rd teamers in 2 preseason games so far.... His preseason stats say he is 24 attempts for 94 yds. for 3.9 ypa. His longest run was 13 yards. The latest (New Orleans) game however, he was 13 att/57 yds for a 4.4 ypa.... not bad.... those are some of the measureables...

Visually, he's showing speed and burst but still has some "rookieness". Kubes apparently likes his speed.... If he (Slaton) gets his backfield blocking down I think he could be a stand-in until the A Green situation gets resolved (or fails). Backfield blocking is not exactly rocket science: See man, block man. See blitzer, block blitzer. He needs more reps so the Dallas game should give him just that... I don't see him starting at Pittsburgh....

Currently, the backfield consists of 4 gimps and 2 imps. I think the youngest 3 would be my keepers with perhaps Brown for short yardage....

Get ready to change that title back soon.

Last night on the NFL channel, Rod Woodson said don't be surprised. Slaton could be a starter soon.

:D

I just wanted to point out statistically that his stats are bound to be a little deflated considering he was running into 9 and 10 man fronts, which are to be expected when you have a lead and are running out the clock.

13 for 57 yards. Just for the sake of this conversation, lets minus the last drive runs that Slaton had when he was running out the clock, which were 3 carries for 3 yards.

Then it becomes 10 carries for 54 yards which breaks out to 5.4 yards per clip.

The same can be done for the Broncos game after Slaton's 13 yard run to make the game winner a chip shot. In that span against those same 9 and 10 man fronts he had 4 carries for 4 yards.

His 11 for 37 turns into 7 for 33, then turns into 4.7 ypc.

Following this all the way through the total becomes 17 for 87, which is 5.1 ypc. An altogether more impressive number.

Just saying.

i hope you are right. we will know more this weekend.

There's no doubt that Slaton's got the "burst" that can mean lllloooooooonnnnggggg runs in the zone scheme. We still need to see him against top level NFL talent. I like the fact that Kubiak is going to give him that shot. He will always be questioned as an every down back....until he surprises people and does it for a few years in row, and I hope he does. He's earned a chance to prove he deserves more regular season carries though.

It was just one play against the Saints, but I also saw Slaton do a GREAT job pick up a blitz against the Saints....that's the sort of thing that will help get him on the field more.

on a side note....somebody please give a pretty detailed account of the game against the cowgirls. I'm in Germany....and by the time it comes on here I will be blitzed out of mind on German beer if I'm still awake.

Just remember that DD-W was considered a 3rd down back also. Things like that can change.

Not to mention a smallish RB out of Villanova taken 8 picks after the Texans grabbed the infamous Charles Hill in the 2002 draft.

You got me all kinda confused. DD-W was a 2003 4th round pick and went to LSU. Jonathan Wells was the 2002 4th round pick after Hill out of OSU.

LUCKY!! Whereabouts?

Dave,

I think he was talking about Brian Westbrook who was taken after Charles Hill.

D'oh!! That went right over my head.

I dunno, has Slaton had a single forward-pass thrown his way since he got
here ? I'm thinking he is suppose to have good hands ? A little pass in the
flat might create some excitement.

I'm ready for Slaton to be the next next coming of DD-W. Only I hope he doesn't blow out a knee like his namesake did. I would be thrilled to death if Slaton career runs alongside Westbrook's. But,.........let's just get him through tonight's game first.

Between Frankfurt and Stuggart in a town most Germans have never heard of. I'm doing some training at the corporate office. I'm here a couple times a year at least. My friends here keep me pretty well entertained, but there is only one bar in the village I'm staying and it closes pretty early ....even on weekends it's midnight or 1 am.

Looking at the statistics, it would appear that Slaton and Taylor both ran at the same efficiency yesterday, but the statistics can lie. I was MUCH more impressed with Slaton's job. Almost all his carries were against the Dallas first team defense, and he broke off a couple good, long runs I have deeply missed watching Ron Dayne out there for the past couple years. Slaton's stats are skewed somewhat because there were a couple run plays where the offensive line just completely blew up and Slaton got gang tackled 2 yards behind the line of scrimmage. LT wouldn't have been able to do anything with those carries. I didn't see any such line breakdowns on any of Chris Taylor's carries.

The offense just ran so much smoother once Slaton got in the game. Unless Ahman Green gets healthy, I think I'd rather see Slaton as the starting RB against Pittsburgh (and maybe even if Green IS healthy).

Dito. the first year ahman got injured, "shame on him" but if we give him another opportunity (given his current health situation), "shame on us".

Its time to prepare as if there is no ahman or CBrown.