Pierce was an animal last year and their O seems to revolve around a run game so hopefully he can keep that up. But outside them and the Titans, and the Bears, I can’t think of any other team that relies on their run game. As a Bears fan, they don’t go for superstars, they just use them and lose them.
That was exactly my point. Pierce had a really solid season 939 yards rushing on 220 carries and 4TDs, but he needs to put together another strong season together to prove he's for real. As good as his season was, he was still only 17th in rushing yards in the NFL. There were 16 guys with over 1,000 rushing. In the top 10 last year, you've got Jacobs and Henry (#1 and #2) from Bama. Chubb (3) from UGA, Cook (#6) from FSU. And Etienne (#9) from Clemson. And Harris from Bama is ahead of him as well. There are several other RBs from these same schools that have been very good in the last decade. You know these coaches are making sure these RB recruits know that UF hasn't produced an elite NFL RB in their lifetime. But if Pierce can stay healthy and maybe have a top 10 year and then we have one or 2 of our current backs have a strong year and do well, that can change things.
IMO, it's good (so far) due to the avg score of 94.29. Higher than UGA and Alabama at the moment. Will it be that high at the end? Who knows - probably not. But it's still a good start.
I agree. And out of all those, my personal opinion is that all of them will suffer Cook’s fate except Henry. If there’s one who I’d say has a better shot at being around a while it’s ETN because of versatility in the passing game. I think me and you are on the same page though
I'm not arguing with you but what exactly is "Cook's fate"? Cook is still a very good NFL RB. Somebody will want to pick him up. The issue is that Cook thinks he's an elite $10 million per year back and the Vikings weren't willing to pay him that kind of money and couldn't find anyone willing to give them what they wanted in a trade for him. But somebody will want him. The only way I can see him not being signed as somebody's #1-2 back is if he decides he'd rather retire now than accept a $3-5 million contract to play.
Cook’s fate is basically what you said. He was a great RB but he got beat up, coming off of shoulder surgery if I recall and the Vikings don’t see him as valuable as he once was. So they toss him aside and get someone fresh because RBs are a dime a dozen. He’s not backing down from his stance and that’s fine but he’s not reading the room either. He’s what, 27? There’s a 20 year old that can likely do the same thing or slightly less for a lot cheaper on a rookie contract.
But since the league has become a pass first option, that’s how teams look at them. You don’t need a RB who can put the team on their shoulders like Taylor used to or Henry does, or like Pierce did this past season. You just need the run of the mill RB at a cheap value that can hold onto the ball, and make some things happen every so often. Gone are the days of Walter Peyton, ES, Barry Sanders, Fred Taylor, etc. now it’s do your rookie contract and move on aside from a few cases
Okay, then we're on the same page. But I don't think they're going for a new younger back ... at least they didn't draft one early. Mattison will likely be their #1 guy this year. But the point where all this began was that Cook is a guy who has arguably been a top 5 RB in the league for the past 4 years. Even if he never plays agin, he has been a very solid NFL RB. Florida needs to develop a couple of guys that have that kind of career before we can really break that image and start attracting the elite RB recruits. Hopefully Pierce becomes the first.
