Foster at the Combine

#77
#77
kptvol said:
Willie Parker would never start over a guy like Rashard Mendenhall.

Weird that the third best RB on our roster had around 1400 yards in 2007. Weird that the running game got worse when he was on the sideline. Weird that he had a better YPC than Hardesty.
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yea
too bad Clawful changed the blocking scheme for '08 and hampered the offense
 
#78
#78
rmsmith said:
Yeah I had heard that. So why not just have pro day at the schools an do away with the combine? seems redundant to me. Or does not all teams go to pro day?
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Only some of the big schools have pro days.
 
#81
#81
Rheltnie Vol said:
Lets be honest, Arian Foster does not have NFL speed, thats why he didn't run. Whether you liked him as a UT running back or not, you have to admit, he rarely, if ever, ran away from anyone. He would run a 4.65 at best.
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Rheltnie Vol said:
He was projected to do lots of things... and never really lived up to the hype... I do keep up with the news and there was a time that I was excited about Arian Foster. I don't care if he is at 100%, I have never seen him show NFL speed. I'm just being realistic. Costly fumbles or not, the NFL-level athleticism, moves, power, and speed just isn't there. I think he gets drafted, but no way is it going to be in the first 4 rounds. His NFL potential, in my opinion, is less than Cedric Houston's was, who was drafted in the 6th round. The fact that he is nursing an injury further hurts his draft stock, this guy was a walking MASH unit at UT, IF he was healthy and ran the timed 40 at the combine, it would not have helped his stock.
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Rheltnie Vol said:
Knowshon Moreno ran a 4.55 at the combine, I stand by my estimate of Foster running a 4.65 if he is at 100%.

Also, on the fumbles stats above... withour checkinthe stats I would have thought more fumbles would have been credited to Foster... the QB/RB exchange problems that resulted in so many turnovers last season must have been credited to the QB.
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Foster certainly isn't a speed merchant by any means but he is as fast as NFL players like Kevin Faulk and Fred Taylor and those guys have had long and successful NFL careers. Everybody doesn't have to be a speed demon to play in the NFL, there is a place in the league for people with Foster's talent if they work hard enough.
 
#82
#82
Perhaps Foster will be better off entering the league under the radar. All the hype of him becoming UTs leading rusher his senior year and preseason accolades didn't seem to work out for him.

The more successful he is in the league, the better for our program, and really that's what we care about.
 
#83
#83
Rheltnie Vol said:
Lets be honest, Arian Foster does not have NFL speed, thats why he didn't run. Whether you liked him as a UT running back or not, you have to admit, he rarely, if ever, ran away from anyone. He would run a 4.65 at best.
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My understanding is that the pro scouts like him because he catches the ball well out of the backfield.
 
#84
#84
JOEY'S ALL VOL !!! said:
Foster certainly isn't a speed merchant by any means but he is as fast as NFL players like Kevin Faulk and Fred Taylor and those guys have had long and successful NFL careers. Everybody doesn't have to be a speed demon to play in the NFL, there is a place in the league for people with Foster's talent if they work hard enough.
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That's a tall order for Arian, Fred Taylor was an absolute work horse. I'm not sure Foster has that durability and toughness to be that kind of back in the NFL. For Taylor to run the ball the way he did for 11 years is very rare. You just dont get that kind of production out of many guys The top running backs in the league come out of college with a head of steam like Marion Barber or Chris Johnson and after 4-5 seasons they are washed up. These guys just hit a wall and its over... see Eddie George, Terrell Davis, and basically what we are seeing happen to LT right now. If a guy doesn't come out with speed or power to make an instant impact he probably isn't going to do much.

I am not saying that Foster will not get drafted or play, I am saying he is a late round pick with average speed, hands, and questionable toughness that probably will not a start a game in the NFL. By the way, Fred Taylor was a 9th overall pick in the 98 draft and an absolute stud at Florida. Oh yeah... he also ran a 4.35 going into that draft.... I'm just saying.

Good luck to Arian, it will be nice to see another UT running back do well in the pros, but the odds are against him.
 
#85
#85
Arian in 06 and 07 seemed very similar to Matt Forte when he left Tulane (now with the Bears), who had a great rookie year. Not incredibly fast, but some good size, vision and soft hands.
 
#87
#87
Rheltnie Vol said:
That's a tall order for Arian, Fred Taylor was an absolute work horse. I'm not sure Foster has that durability and toughness to be that kind of back in the NFL. For Taylor to run the ball the way he did for 11 years is very rare. You just dont get that kind of production out of many guys The top running backs in the league come out of college with a head of steam like Marion Barber or Chris Johnson and after 4-5 seasons they are washed up. These guys just hit a wall and its over... see Eddie George, Terrell Davis, and basically what we are seeing happen to LT right now. If a guy doesn't come out with speed or power to make an instant impact he probably isn't going to do much.

I am not saying that Foster will not get drafted or play, I am saying he is a late round pick with average speed, hands, and questionable toughness that probably will not a start a game in the NFL. By the way, Fred Taylor was a 9th overall pick in the 98 draft and an absolute stud at Florida. Oh yeah... he also ran a 4.35 going into that draft.... I'm just saying.

Good luck to Arian, it will be nice to see another UT running back do well in the pros, but the odds are against him.
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:eek:lol:Fred Taylor was an absolute workhorse? That's hilarious! He wasn't tagged with the name Fragile Fred for nothing. The guy had serious talent, but he was constantly injured up until the last two or three seasons when he was splitting carries. Coincidence? I think not. Fred Taylor was a workhorse? I think not.
 
#88
#88
Rheltnie Vol said:
These guys just hit a wall and its over... see Eddie George, Terrell Davis, and basically what we are seeing happen to LT right now.
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Do you even follow the NFL? Anyone that does would know that Terrell Davis didn't hit any freaking wall. He suffered a career ending knee injury. Eddie George didn't really hit a wall either. The Titans ran the damn wheels off of him, which is the same thing that happened to Shaun Alexander and appears to have happened to LT.

LT has 229 more carries than Fred Taylor, and he's played 3 fewer seasons. LT has averaged 332 carries per season. Shaun Alexander has only 252 fewer career carries than Fred Taylor, and he has played 3 fewer seasons as well. Shaun Alexander has averaged 272 carries per season. Fred Taylor has averaged only 220 carries per season over an 11 year career, which is far fewer carries than LT or Shaun Alexander.
 
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#89
#89
oklavol said:
He needs a fast time, his senior season was disappointing.
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The whole offense was disappointing, the line could not block, we were not a threat to pass the ball, pretty hard for anyone to run under these conditions.
 
#90
#90
He ran the 40 with a ball and ..................

610x.jpg
 
#91
#91
Vol423 said:
Do you even follow the NFL? Anyone that does would know that Terrell Davis didn't hit any freaking wall. He suffered a career ending knee injury. Eddie George didn't really hit a wall either. The Titans ran the damn wheels off of him, which is the same thing that happened to Shaun Alexander and appears to have happened to LT.

LT has 229 more carries than Fred Taylor, and he's played 3 fewer seasons. LT has averaged 332 carries per season. Shaun Alexander has only 252 fewer career carries than Fred Taylor, and he has played 3 fewer seasons as well. Shaun Alexander has averaged 272 carries per season. Fred Taylor has averaged only 220 carries per season over an 11 year career, which is far fewer carries than LT or Shaun Alexander.
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Yes, Football Genius, I do follow the NFL... call it what you want.. hitting a wall, career ending injury, wheels falling off... these backs peak quickly and then flame out even quicker, for whatever reason. Thanks for helping me make my point. All of the backs named above, reached their prime after a few seasons... then it was quickly over. All of those running backs had the benefit of great offensive lines also. I had Seattle Seahawks season tickets during their Super Bowl run a few years ago, it was the one of the finest season long displays of running I have ever seen. The very next season Seattle got rid of Steve Hutchinson, one of the best linemen in the NFL... suddenly Alexander had to run harder for his yards, took more hits, got hurt, stopped finishing his runs strong, then it was pretty much over. Eddie George, had the benefit of running behind Lorenzo Neal, one of the best fullbacks ever... once the Titans got rid of Neal and went to the single back running game exclusively, Eddie's career was more or less done. Guess who got to run behind L Neal next... LT. Wheels are falling off in San Diego now and speed demon Darren Sproles is looking more effective than LT. Larry Johnson, Ahman Green, etc, the list goes on, they get tired, hurt, whatever. I guess my point with Fred Taylor being a workhorse is the longevity and productivity he has displayed, Tiki Barber was another guy that benefited from splitting carries. Not many NFL running backs can be productive for very long with the exception of guys like Emmitt Smith or Marshall Faulk... its lightning in a bottle to score a guys like that. Please also note, Foster doesn't really belong in the same conversation with any RB named in this paragraph.

Back to ARIAN FOSTER... there is probably a hidden blessing in all of this for him, he's going to get drafted late and that improves his chances of landing on a better team. He will look much better and last longer behind a strong O-Line on a competitive team. He's not good enough to be productive on a bad team.

These debates are fun... I am no football genius by any means, but I spend as much time following the pro and college game as just about anyone that doesn't get paid for it. Bottom line... none of us on Vol Nation know jack compared to the NFL scouts and coaches getting paid millions to evaluate talent. Any one of us that really knew that much would have given up our day jobs long ago.

For all of you that think Arian is the sleeper pick of this year's draft... go ahead, pick with your heart and take him for your fantasy teams next season. I'm not.

Here's the general analysis on Arian Foster:

NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles - Arian Foster
 
#92
#92
he was actually pretty productive his freshman year.
2005 wasnt exactly what u would call a good team. but this year we couldnt run the ball cuz there were 8 and at time 9 ppl in the box
 
#95
#95
motown vol 09 said:
he was actually pretty productive his freshman year.
2005 wasnt exactly what u would call a good team. but this year we couldnt run the ball cuz there were 8 and at time 9 ppl in the box
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I will agree with that. The Kentucky game on the road in 2005 he was a beast. He wasn't that bad of a back until we had to be one dimensional this year. I was over him after the Auburn game this year when he fumbled in the endzone. That's when Crompton did it in for me as well.
 
#96
#96
Guys: Almost any NFL back who plays regularly and is getting, say, 15 carries a game is going to be past his prime by year 4 or 5. After that, he is running on borrowed time. These guys take a POUNDING--their legs take a pounding: Can you imagine getting hammered by muscular 220 to 280 pound guys game after game--above and below the waist? Didn't Alexander's career last 10 years or so? That's pretty damn good. I think former Vol James Stewart played for about six years, maybe seven before he was done. Do they peak early? They PEAK when the first stop on an NFL field--they're fresh--and they can stay fresh for three/four years if they are lucky and really strong and fit and stay injury free. But the legs go relatively quickly--and then it's on to a younger back with nimble legs. Having good OL's probably helps a little--maybe you're getting hit more by DBs than Ray Lewis--but the physical toll occurs no matter what. A knee surgery or two usually hastens a back's demise, of course.
 
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