Blue and red chippers

[DontPushMe]

Blue chip player = pretty much saying hes one of the best in the game and cant improve much more from there.

He didnt break dillons record because hes good. he broke it because he got way more carries then dillon ever got here. It took RJ 46 extra carries to break Dillons record by 19 yards. Well done :/. THIS YEAR, on 16 LESS carries and one less game, Corey Dillon got 181 MORE yards rushing then RJ, and thats not even counting the extra yards receiving, and playoff yardage!

I have never said Johnson straight up sucks, he doesnt. He is mediocre, you guys just fail to realize this. When ranked with all other RBs in the league, he ends up somewhere between 14 and 17. He cant carry a team on his back, he cant do anything if the offensive line doesnt open things up for him, he cant play a part in the receiving game, he cant make people miss and make something out of nothing, he really isnt even that good at short yardage, he simply isnt a good player. Hes average, slightly above average at best. Oh, and since you guys love stats so much, heres a stat line for you:

19 carries 31 yards 1.6 ypc

As already pointed out in this thread, and as ive pointed out many times, he had 5 games averaging 4 ypc or more, and 11 under 4. How is that a blue chip player?

[andybren]

He is who he is, a poor mans emmit SmithIMHO

Poor man's Emmitt Smith? Gimme a break. You're either elevating Emmitt much higher than he deserves, or sinking Rudi much lower than he deserves. Emmitt Smith was durable, was on good teams, but was never spectacular in a Walter Payton/Barry Sanders kind of way. A lot like Rudi, in my opinion. They do their jobs, they get their yards, they don't screw up. Given the same time and opportunities that Emmitt had, Rudi will be just as good, and won't deserve that kind of back-handed compliment.

And IMHO, a healthy Chris Perry means better numbers for Rudi. It will mean quality touches, not quantity touches. Longer drives, more chances to score. And like I said before, when you want to grind out a back-breaking drive in the second half, you hand the ball to Rudi, not Perry. Worst case scenario for Rudi, Perry turns out to be the next Barry Sanders and must take a Bettis-type role with the team. But not next year.

[jonf45uk]

blue- chad, willie, shayne graham,brad st louis

red- landon,simmons, tj, palmer,rudi,steinbach,james,williams,o-neal,smith.

i believe landon and madieu could be pro bowlers if they emulate what they did last year, and a whole host of others could become solid starters.

the future's bright ..the future's orange....and black!!

[Kazkal]

Next year, however, when the team is taking 14 point leads into the second half and ML wants to be conservative, he'll be the Man and people will notice.

I disagree, this will be the year Chris Perry takes over and shows you guys what a real RB looks like. Something we havent had since #28 left us.

~Aye I can't wait to see what chris perry does for the bengals,he could be the next brian westbrook.Rudi is a good pounder and he's durable but when it comes to skill I think perry will > him

[derekshank]

He is who he is, a poor mans emmit SmithIMHO

Poor man's Emmitt Smith? Gimme a break. You're either elevating Emmitt much higher than he deserves, or sinking Rudi much lower than he deserves. Emmitt Smith was durable, was on good teams, but was never spectacular in a Walter Payton/Barry Sanders kind of way.

madness

[DontPushMe]

He is who he is, a poor mans emmit SmithIMHO

Poor man's Emmitt Smith? Gimme a break. You're either elevating Emmitt much higher than he deserves, or sinking Rudi much lower than he deserves. Emmitt Smith was durable, was on good teams, but was never spectacular in a Walter Payton/Barry Sanders kind of way.

madness

Yeah, comparing Rudi Johnson to the NFLs all time rushing leader, such an atrocity. Everyone should know, RJ is better then Emmit smith, hes on the level with Barry sanders.

Some of you people really need to get real here. RJ is a very poor mans emmit smith. Hes not as good, at all, end of discussion.

blue- chad, willie, shayne graham,brad st louis

LOL

[jditty47]

that shayne graham and brad st louis thing made me laugh too.

[Kazkal]

He is who he is, a poor mans emmit SmithIMHO

Poor man's Emmitt Smith? Gimme a break. You're either elevating Emmitt much higher than he deserves, or sinking Rudi much lower than he deserves. Emmitt Smith was durable, was on good teams, but was never spectacular in a Walter Payton/Barry Sanders kind of way.

madness

Yeah, comparing Rudi Johnson to the NFLs all time rushing leader, such an atrocity. Everyone should know, RJ is better then Emmit smith, hes on the level with Barry sanders.

Some of you people really need to get real here. RJ is a very poor mans emmit smith. Hes not as good, at all, end of discussion.

blue- chad, willie, shayne graham,brad st louis

LOL

Well isen't ,brad st louis suppossed to be the best long snapper or one of them

[Rimington over Marino]

Rudi just does his job. Nothing special. I am a big fan. Nobody can knock any running back with his totals. However I could list a minimum of 10 that are better, easily. LT for SD is #1 on the list.

I would like to see what Lee Suggs could do for a team with a good O line.

[Spain]

First of all very interesting opinions. However Im with Remington This one , Rudi is very average. The same thing in Denver with their backs (its all o line)you get a Steinbadh and these things happen. Any back will do behind this guy. IMHO

[tmurda]

He didnt break dillons record because hes good. he broke it because he got way more carries then dillon ever got here. It took RJ 46 extra carries to break Dillons record by 19 yards. Well done :/. THIS YEAR, on 16 LESS carries and one less game, Corey Dillon got 181 MORE yards rushing then RJ, and thats not even counting the extra yards receiving, and playoff yardage!

I have never said Johnson straight up sucks, he doesnt. He is mediocre, you guys just fail to realize this. When ranked with all other RBs in the league, he ends up somewhere between 14 and 17. He cant carry a team on his back, he cant do anything if the offensive line doesnt open things up for him, he cant play a part in the receiving game, he cant make people miss and make something out of nothing, he really isnt even that good at short yardage, he simply isnt a good player. Hes average, slightly above average at best. Oh, and since you guys love stats so much, heres a stat line for you:

19 carries 31 yards 1.6 ypc

As already pointed out in this thread, and as ive pointed out many times, he had 5 games averaging 4 ypc or more, and 11 under 4. How is that a blue chip player?

First off, let me say that I think the whole "blue chip, red chip" rating system outlined at the start of this thread is pretty stupid. It's an oversimplification, pure and simple. Furthermore, it makes no distinction of rating on current production and ability or on potential (the starter of the thread placed Carson as a blue chip, which he certainly has the potential of being, but he isn't a "probowl level performer" right now).

On to Rudi.

He is not a top 10 RB and he definitely isn't Emmitt Smith, but he fills the role that he needs to fill in this offense. Regardless of the amount of attempts, 1453 yards is a great contribution to the production of the offense. A 4.0 average YPC does not make Rudi a bad running back. Better RBs than Rudi have posted such a YPC in the past, and several did it this season- LT, basically consensus #1 RB in the NFL right now, had a 3.9, and he wasn't even carrying the offense on his back like he did the past three years. McGahee had a 4.0, and he is definitely one of the most talented up-and-coming backs in the NFL. I ignore Clinton Portis (3.8) because the Redskins' offense had no passing game (discussed below).

Now, on comparing Rudi to Dillon. Dillon ran for 1635 yards with a 4.7 YPC average, true. He did this on the best team in the NFL. Dillon brought a big boost to the Pats' offense (he's a huge step up from Antowain Smith, after all) but his production benefited just as much from the rest of that offense. He had the second-best QB in the National Football League (some would say the best, and they have a valid argument) on his team commanding an extremely efficient passing offense that put up very good numbers. This is going to make a running back look better and produce better stats. As such, your comparison of Dillon's 2004 stats to Rudi's isn't really valid.

All that said, I'm not trying to deny that your idol Corey Dillon is more talented than Rudi. Like I said above, Rudi is not a top 10 RB. He is not an outstanding player or a real home-run threat. He won't be a starting Pro Bowler when RBs like LaDainian Tomlinson, Curtis Martin, Jamal Lewis, Edgerrin James, and Priest Holmes are playing in the AFC. He is, however, a solid, and dare I say, good running back (there are a lot of good running backs in the NFL, if you haven't figured this out yet). Like Rimington said, he does his job. His amount of carries will drop this year, and he likely won't exceed his 1450 yard season (especially if we throw more), but his YPC will go up as a result of Chris Perry hopefully spelling him and an improved passing game. Rudi is a proven workhorse who can handle 20+ carries a game, not get injured, and produce good enough numbers for our offense. With the passing offense showing as much potential as it does, that's really all we need. The bottom line, really, is there are guaranteed to be multiple NFL teams next year who will be disappointed with their running game's production and their featured running backs' performance, and the Bengals will not be one of those teams.

Oh yeah, LMAO at Brad St. Louis. And Shayne Graham isn't a bad kicker, but he has a long way to go before he can be considered a blue chip player. Blue chip kickers are guys like Adam Viniateri and David Akers (incidentally, the two conference champions last year also happen to have the two best kickers in the league).

[derekshank]

All that said, I'm not trying to deny that your idol Corey Dillon is more talented than Rudi. Like I said above, Rudi is not a top 10 RB. He is not an outstanding player or a real home-run threat. He won't be a starting Pro Bowler when RBs like LaDainian Tomlinson, Curtis Martin, Jamal Lewis, Edgerrin James, and Priest Holmes are playing in the AFC. He is, however, a solid, and dare I say, good running back (there are a lot of good running backs in the NFL, if you haven't figured this out yet). Like Rimington said, he does his job. His amount of carries will drop this year, and he likely won't exceed his 1450 yard season (especially if we throw more), but his YPC will go up as a result of Chris Perry hopefully spelling him and an improved passing game. Rudi is a proven workhorse who can handle 20+ carries a game, not get injured, and produce good enough numbers for our offense. With the passing offense showing as much potential as it does, that's really all we need. The bottom line, really, is there are guaranteed to be multiple NFL teams next year who will be disappointed with their running game's production and their featured running backs' performance, and the Bengals will not be one of those teams.

You're right, there are a lot of "good" RB's in the league... and in fact, when there are so many, it really makes you wonder, "is it not more an evidence of the NFL shifting toward a tendency for a pass dominated offense?" When most teams prefer to air it out, rather than pound it with a REB, teams are forced to be honest against the run. When you compare today's REB stats to yesteryears, it looks as though there are many very good Rbis out there.

With so many "good" backs out there, by definition that requires that Rudd be considered as average. If he is "good" and there are so many others that are also "good", than "good" = average.

Don't get me wrong... Iamb not with DontPushMe... although Dillon was better than Rudd, Dillon was a menace and a cancer. I was giddy when we traded him, but Rudd was far from an upgrade. The best word I can use to describe Rudi is "serviceable", because he isn't bad, and does just enough to allow the passing game to continue working... he is "good"