Running Backs - Who Stays and Who Goes?

[Blackbirds Rule]

I can't wait for tomorrow. I like Berry as well but from what I heard about Pierce I want to see him make it. I think Rice, Allen, and Pierce with a rotation between Pierce and Allen as the second back depending on the game situation.

[Guest RBates]

Anthony Allen had a horrible first showing.

[BMORElegacy]

[quote name='Free Agent' timestamp='1343848269' post='1108115']
Im rooting for Anthony Allen to win the #2 RB job. I wasnt very pleased when we drafted Pierce, and I wouldnt be all that happy if he ends up being our #2 RB. I hope Allen gets to be the #2, and Pierce can be the #3 while he develops.
[/quote]Pierce was drafted because he is a one-cut runner and would thrive in a zone blocking scheme. The same blocking scheme we adopted last year after Leach was signed. I'm excited about Pierce. He dominated his competition when he played for Temple and if put in the right position could excel. Why you're not pleased about having a back that runs like Arian Foster in a scheme Foster thrives in is beyond me. Pierce is a perfect fit for this team and scheme.

[Free Agent]

[quote name='BMORElegacy' timestamp='1344594212' post='1116064']
Pierce was drafted because he is a one-cut runner and would thrive in a zone blocking scheme. The same blocking scheme we adopted last year after Leach was signed. I'm excited about Pierce. He dominated his competition when he played for Temple and if put in the right position could excel. Why you're not pleased about having a back that runs like Arian Foster in a scheme Foster thrives in is beyond me. Pierce is a perfect fit for this team and scheme.
[/quote]

I agree that he is a good scheme fit, and he could be good if he's placed in the right position, but if he's as good as you say he is, he should have distanced himself from 7th round pick Anthony Allen and UDFAs Damien Berry and Bobby Rainey by now. Maybe he'll develop into something good down the road, but I think it was a somewhat poor use of a 3rd round pick this year. Just my opinion.

[BMORElegacy]

[quote name='Free Agent' timestamp='1344631412' post='1116762']
I agree that he is a good scheme fit, and he could be good if he's placed in the right position, but if he's as good as you say he is, he should have distanced himself from 7th round pick Anthony Allen and UDFAs Damien Berry and Bobby Rainey by now. Maybe he'll develop into something good down the road, but I think it was a somewhat poor use of a 3rd round pick this year. Just my opinion.
[/quote]It is my understanding that he was being targeted by a couple of our rivals so we took him. The coaching staff and scouts were high on him and wanted him badly. If they wanted him that's good enough for me. Rice didn't see much time initially either back in 2008 so give him some time. Bernard is still a rookie and I thought he was still recovering from an injury on top of that. Anthony Allen didn't really impress me last night but the preseason is still young.

[UMDan]

Rainey looked pretty damn good.

[K-Dog]

Switching my vote from Allen to Rainey.
Sorry Anthony

[Yatagarasu]

Yeah, Bernard Pierce never crossed my mind as a player we would trade up to get.

Right now, the injury bug is making him miss valuable reps and carries. And everyone knows what happens when a RB is missing reps (Chris Johnson).

Arian Foster started late in his rookie year and exploded on to the scene late in the season.

[ravensfolife]

[quote name='BloodRaven' timestamp='1343928459' post='1108758']
I'm curious as to why Rainey wasn't graded higher considering his similarities to Rice.
[/quote]
I seen him play in college and he's a beast! Trying looking him up on YouTube vs Lsu last year.

[gregreid5]

I am officially on the rainey bandwagon.

Give me Rice, Pierce and Rainey.

Anthony Allen just hasnt shown me yet that he can transition from the option to a real offense.

Damien Berry would probably be the #4 guy in my opinion and I dont think he has ever looked as good as rainey did last night

[BloodRaven]

I had to remind myself every time he was running that he's not Rice in another jersey.

[ChrisAllen]

I caught most of the game. Allen looked incredibly mediocre. He's a big guy but he lacked any type of real explosion or pop in his contact.
Berry didn't look much better but he did get a bit of movement. Rainey looked the best by far, but nothing mind-blowing. Pierce is still a question mark.

I think they'll push for Pierce to be our number two back and give him every opportunity to claim that spot. I just dont see us dropping a 3'rd round pick on a guy who doesnt play in a position of need unless we had alot of faith in him and expected him to contribute in some way immediately. I really like all of these backs overall, I think they're all different and they all seem like cool guys off the field.

Realistically, I see Rice starting (Obviously), Pierce having the next most carries (by far), and Allen rounding them out.

Sidenote: I wouldn't be surprised if Rainey took Berry's spot on the P.S. and Berry got cut. Rainey was a beast in Atlanta but I just don't see the team wanting to part ways with Allen or Pierce (They were both draft picks and both seem to still hold fair value to the FO)

But who knows?

I guess what I'm saying is the third running back spot is there for the taking, and unless one of these guys (Berry or Rainey) come in and clean house, I see them wanting to stick with their draft picks in Pirce and Allen.

[rmw10]

[quote name='ChrisAllen' timestamp='1344697611' post='1117057']
I caught most of the game. Allen looked incredibly mediocre. He's a big guy but he lacked any type of real explosion or pop in his contact.
Berry didn't look much better but he did get a bit of movement. Rainey looked the best by far, but nothing mind-blowing. Pierce is still a question mark.

I think they'll push for Pierce to be our number two back and give him every opportunity to claim that spot. I just dont see us dropping a 3'rd round pick on a guy who doesnt play in a position of need unless we had alot of faith in him and expected him to contribute in some way immediately. I really like all of these backs overall, I think they're all different and they all seem like cool guys off the field.

Realistically, I see Rice starting (Obviously), Pierce having the next most carries (by far), and Allen rounding them out.

Sidenote: I wouldn't be surprised if Rainey took Berry's spot on the P.S. and Berry got cut. Rainey was a beast in Atlanta but I just don't see the team wanting to part ways with Allen or Pierce (They were both draft picks and both seem to still hold fair value to the FO)

But who knows?

I guess what I'm saying is the third running back spot is there for the taking, and unless one of these guys (Berry or Rainey) come in and clean house, I see them wanting to stick with their draft picks in Pirce and Allen.
[/quote]

Of course, it might not mean much, but Berry was starting on the kickoff and punt teams. While he may be viewed as a running back, he could make the team based on ST alone. I personally thought running back was pretty much set in stone, but it seems anyone can come take a spot at this point.

[PurpleCityLights]

Bobby Rainey for the Back Up spot, cut all others....

[PeRK82]

I gotta say, that [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Rainey looks to be the number 2 spot. [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I was really rooting for Allen before the Preseason but i dont think he will even make the team, he can't block , can't catch, cant run.[/font][/color]

[font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][color=#282828]Im eating my words because i was the first to say he could do all of those, man i couldnt have been more wrong. He is going to get our QB killed, he got ran over trying block and then he completely misses blocks[/color][/font]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I like this kid Rainey, reminds me of Rice but a little bit more elusive and i think he is a little bit quicker. Honestly, he reminds me of Rice when he was a Rookie.[/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I think we found our next great RB.[/font][/color]

[font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][color=#282828]On a Side Note -[/color][/font]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Steelers have a new RB with the same name , Chris Rainey who looks and plays the same. He had a break through screen that took it to the house. Are they related????[/font][/color]

[PeRK82]

[quote name='ChrisAllen' timestamp='1344697611' post='1117057']
I caught most of the game. [b]Allen looked incredibly mediocre[/b]. He's a big guy but he lacked any type of real explosion or pop in his contact.
Berry didn't look much better but he did get a bit of movement. Rainey looked the best by far, but nothing mind-blowing. Pierce is still a question mark.

I think they'll push for Pierce to be our number two back and give him every opportunity to claim that spot. I just dont see us dropping a 3'rd round pick on a guy who doesnt play in a position of need unless we had alot of faith in him and expected him to contribute in some way immediately. I really like all of these backs overall, I think they're all different and they all seem like cool guys off the field.

Realistically, I see Rice starting (Obviously), Pierce having the next most carries (by far), and Allen rounding them out.

Sidenote: I wouldn't be surprised if Rainey took Berry's spot on the P.S. and Berry got cut. Rainey was a beast in Atlanta but I just don't see the team wanting to part ways with Allen or Pierce (They were both draft picks and both seem to still hold fair value to the FO)

But who knows?

I guess what I'm saying is the third running back spot is there for the taking, and unless one of these guys (Berry or Rainey) come in and clean house, I see them wanting to stick with their draft picks in Pirce and Allen.
[/quote]

I think you are being nice to even say Allen was [b]mediocre, He played horrid. And i was a big fan of Allen , saying he should have been our Number 2.[/b]

Just from the First preseason game alone, i would put my money on Rainey, i really like this kid. Came out of no where, very elusive. Reminds me of Rice but with more patients and a bit more longer stride.

Guess we will get a better idea of the RB roster when we get to the 3rd and 4th preseason games.

[GrimCoconut]

I want to give my rankings before this game and then after.

1. Rice
2. Pierce
3. Allen
4. Berry vs. Rainey

I liked Allen before this game. I wanted to give him a shot at #2. He really disappointed me. He didn't do anything well. I will wait to see how he performs next game before I make a complete opinion on him. I don't think the FO believes in him though, since we went with Pierce in the draft. After the game I believe we made a good choice in drafting Pierce despite his current status.

Regarding Berry he looked a lot better than Allen but that wasn't hard to do. Still, I liked how Berry showed return ability and I liked how he ran. He just needs work. I can see him go on the practice squad again.

Pierce I can't wait to see. I am excited to see him play. I believe he will be very good in our system. I hope he plays at least one preseason game.

As for Rainey--before this game I believed Rainey could get a spot on the team. I posted a while back that I could see us stash him on the PS and bring him up if someone didn't impress in the return game. I saw him before as primarily a return man who could be a relief runner. I see him a lot differently now. He has a serious chance to be on the team. Still, I need to see lightening strike twice before I believe. Let me see it again and I will say he has a spot.

Now my new ranking is:

1. Rice
2. Pierce
3. Rainey

PS Berry

[PurpleCityLights]

Shouldn't have drafted pierce,should have just got another pass rusher.........isnt he hurt??


•Rice
•Rainey
•Berry

[The Scarlet Raven]

Well I like to wait and see. If all discisions are made on one preseason game then half the players would be cut immediately. As we all remember last year AA did very well in the preseason games and this was without any OTA's. I would not dismiss him just yet. True Pierce has not been on the field yet, so its up in the air with him. I know AA will turn around and be the player that we saw last year and better because he has time with the offense. History tends to repeat itself with players and AA allways comes back after having a bad game. Pierce I hope heals and does well. The hamstring has been his crutch. Look at how rice did in the Atlanta Game he didnt do so well. If we follow what alot of you say he is history, but again the season is a 16 games long not one. Pre-season is 3 games long so lets see what the next game does. I for one will wait.

[baltravensrj55]

bobby rainey was looking like a beast out there on the field.

[Moderator 3]

According to WBAL-TV, Pierce was back practicing today (as was Birk and Jimmy Smith). I think Rainey's performance scared Pierce healthy.

[BloodRaven]

I'm not giving up on Allen, one bad game does not make a player. People forget that he tore up last pre-season.

[PurpleCityLights]

[quote name='BloodRaven' timestamp='1344755328' post='1117414']
I'm not giving up on Allen, one bad game does not make a player. People forget that he tore up last pre-season.
[/quote]



I am.......the guy stays hurt,no need to keep him.

[PurpleCityLights]

If pierce doesnt get heathy, i say let him ride the bench while Rainey takes his #2 spot.

[PurpleCityLights]

I think to be a #2 behind back on this team you have to be just as good as Rice. AA and DB hasnt shown us that but Rainey has:-)

[The Raven]

[quote name='PurpleCityLights' timestamp='1344785165' post='1117511']
I think to be a #2 behind back on this team you have to be[b] just as good as Rice[/b]. AA and DB hasnt shown us that but Rainey has:-)
[/quote]

Yeah okay. Very few running backs in the NFL are just as good as Rice. I wouldn't go so far as to say Rainey is "as good" as Rice either. That's a bit much for one preseason performance against 3rd stringers.

[K-Dog]

Fact of the matter is we really dont have that bowling ball power back that can anniliate the line in a goal line or inches situation.


I miss Jamal.

[PurpleCityLights]

[quote name='K-Dog' timestamp='1344795480' post='1117603']
Fact of the matter is we really dont have that bowling ball power back that can anniliate the line in a goal line or inches situation.


I miss Jamal.
[/quote]

Yes we do , his name is Vonta. You do know Full backs can carrie the ball too....

[PurpleCityLights]

Its just Cam will try to pass on the goal line instead of doing what makes since.

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='PurpleCityLights' timestamp='1344803874' post='1117696']
Its just Cam will try to pass on the goal line instead of doing what makes since.
[/quote]


Cam frequently pounds the rock when the offense gets inside the 5. He'd sooner do that than draw up an imaginative play like all of the better OCs around the league.