Ilov80s 0 Posted August 29, 2006 80's already did some of this where he finds trends of vets coming off down years or young guys with first chance at being starter. You mention Dillon for 'vets coming off down years'...but what about Deuce who had a slight letdown in '04 after nice '03 season but was a huge letdown in '05? Or Ahman Green who was a monster in '03, let down in '04, then huge letdown in '05 missing much of season. You mention Jordan for 'young guys with first chance at being starter'...well what about Barlow who tanked after Hearst left. Or Pittman who was suppose to be the man when he left cards to join bucs? (Not to mention Benson, Foster, Dayne, Duckett who couldn't even unseat the vets ahead of them on depth chart). It's important to pt out the successes of a certain hypothesis...just as an important, especially if you're going to use it as a basis for future drafting, to pt out the failures so can get an honest look at the 'consistency' of the trend one way or another. Again, good thread/info, solid analysis/input by Phoenix/80's...looking forward to more in this thread and others throughout the season. Good analysis and response. It is appreciated. There is no doubt that not every veteran coming off a down year responds with a big year. Not every new feature back shines. Deuce and Green had major injuries in 05 which could happen to any player. If you average out the rest of Deuce's year, he was on pace to have a a very similar year to 04. I believe Green was bothered by injuries from the start of 05. So, when looking at veterans to rebound it seems that health is the #1 thing to keep an eye on. You also bring up Duckett, Dayne, Benson, etc. as guys who were given a chance to start and did not break out. The players you mentioned were given a chance to earn the feature back role, but never actually received the role as a feature back. Duckett never beat out Dunn, Benson didn't beat out TJones, etc. This is in contrast to Lamont Jordan, Westbrook, Rudi, etc. who all were given/earned a chance to be the undisputed #1 back. Thats why you have to look at a guy like Frank Gore and think he's likely to breakout because he is the undisputed #1 back in San Fran. As opposed to a Benson, who is still battling for PT with a veteran in TJones. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
