Bobby Rainey

[balimore]

A lot us, myself included were surprised he didn't make the 53 man roster. Just wanted to congradulate Rainey on what he has done for Tampa so far. So far he looks like a diamond in the ruff.

[BALTIMOREFLACCO]

Got him on my FF team

[-Truth-]

I'm happy for him as well. I too was surprised that he wasn't given an opportunity to crack the final roster. Anthony Allen was a solid contributor on the ST unit, and I'm sure that we expected more production from our backfield duo coming into this season, but Rainey was significantly more promising as a runner. I personally considered him as an underrated prospect during his Western Kentucky days, with better wiggle and vision than you'd expect. He reminded me of another short, #34 ex-Raven in Cory Ross. I doubt he'll be in Tampa Bay next season, with Doug Martin and Mike James returning, but that's because I expect another team to trade for him should he continue building upon his recent success. I wish him the best of luck and will continue monitoring closely.

[BloodRaven]

Good for him.

 

Hopefully a lesson learned for the front office.

[Guest Mr. Nobody]

yeah, he got lucky - didn't make the roster for us, got cut by browns, then tampa's top two running backs go on IR and he shines vs a poor falcons team; let's see him repeat this one performance vs a team accounting for him on the field - he's not the fastest or the strongest and definitely not the youngest

[berad]

After his preseason, trying to stash him on the PS was probably too optimistic.

[-Truth-]

yeah, he got lucky - didn't make the roster for us, got cut by browns, then tampa's top two running backs go on IR and he shines vs a poor falcons team; let's see him repeat this one performance vs a team accounting for him on the field - he's not the fastest or the strongest and definitely not the youngest

He was fortunate in both Doug Martin and Mike James going down with injuries. However, Rainey was also impressive within the Tackle box against Miami, whose Defensive Line has been outstanding thus far. And if we're judging his lone performance against Atlanta, amassing 118 yards after contact and finishing with 8 broken tackles against any defense is nearly as far from lucky as one can possibly be. I agree that he's not the strongest or the fastest. But nobody says that he has to be. He's certainly not an inept physical specimen. His 4.51 strongly suggests that he won't outrun the entire defense with sheer foot speed, but he doesn't lack in strength and explosion. His 24 reps of 225 lbs were 4th best among RBs in his Draft class. He also finished 2nd in the 3 cone drill and a vertical of 35'5'' with a broad jump of 10'0'', good for 5th best, for a player measuring at 5'7'' is an impressive feat. And having just turned 26 in October, age is not of a concern at the moment. There's much more to the RB position than physical prowess. Lastly, requesting a repeat performance in order for Rainey to solidify himself as a viable RB is entirely unrealistic. Expecting such a performance from any RB not named Adrian Peterson is unrealistic. I doubt anyone expects Rainey to continue producing at anywhere near this level of play. But I wouldn't say that 75+ scrimmage yards and a TD every other game are out of the question. At this point, he's ideally a solid #2 in the average backfield who has a chance to work himself up the food chain.

[Stephenjr]

yeah, he got lucky - didn't make the roster for us, got cut by browns, then tampa's top two running backs go on IR and he shines vs a poor falcons team; let's see him repeat this one performance vs a team accounting for him on the field - he's not the fastest or the strongest and definitely not the youngest

He has had Back to Back Great performances, 2 weeks in a row! Check your facts Mr.Nobody!!

[SeaHawk]

I will go one further and say that age for an RB really does not matter as much as number of carries does. He might be 26 years old, but he's fresher than your average 26 year old RB as he just entered the league last year, and he didn't play for us beyond just practice reps.

[balimore]

I hate how much people focus on combine numbers. You can't measure heart, mental toughness and other aspects that are important to succeed in the nfl. Luckily that worked in our favor when we drafted #52.

[-Truth-]

I hate how much people focus on combine numbers. You can't measure heart, mental toughness and other aspects that are important to succeed in the nfl. Luckily that worked in our favor when we drafted #52.

Agreed. In Rainey's case, his vision and decisiveness apply under that category as well. And those qualities have no units of measure neither.

[dhstandard]

Good for him.

 

Hopefully a lesson learned for the front office.

 

If he was still on the team he would be riding the bench and rarely activated.  I don't see how it was a bad idea to let him go?  

[Guest Mr. Nobody]

He has had Back to Back Great performances, 2 weeks in a row! Check your facts Mr.Nobody!!

I wouldn't really call the game he played vs Miami a great performance by any means, it was a good back-up role performance at the most

 

WK OPP    Rush Att  Yds  Avg  Lng TD Rec Yds  Avg   Lng  TD FUM

10  MIA            8      45     5.6   31    1    1    11    11.0  11      0    --   

11  ATL           30    163   5.4   43T  2    2     4      2.0   4T     1    --

 

I'm pretty sure the Falcons didn't really prepare for him as you would do for an opposing RB1

[Guest Mr. Nobody]

He has had Back to Back Great performances, 2 weeks in a row! Check your facts Mr.Nobody!!

 

I wouldn't really call the game he played vs Miami a great performance by any means, it was a good back-up role performance at the most

 

WK OPP    Rush Att  Yds  Avg  Lng TD Rec Yds  Avg   Lng  TD FUM

10  MIA            8      45     5.6   31    1    1    11    11.0  11      0    --   

11  ATL           30    163   5.4   43T  2    2     4      2.0   4T     1    --

 

I'm pretty sure the Falcons didn't really prepare for him as you would do for an opposing RB1

[SeaHawk]

 

I wouldn't really call the game he played vs Miami a great performance by any means, it was a good back-up role performance at the most

 

WK OPP    Rush Att  Yds  Avg  Lng TD Rec Yds  Avg   Lng  TD FUM

10  MIA            8      45     5.6   31    1    1    11    11.0  11      0    --   

11  ATL           30    163   5.4   43T  2    2     4      2.0   4T     1    --

 

I'm pretty sure the Falcons didn't really prepare for him as you would do for an opposing RB1

 

 

Um, excuse me?? I wish our backs could put that kind of "backup type" game up against a stout run defense like Rainey did against Miami... I don't know if you saw the average YPC he had, but he had 5.6. Give him 30 carries, and he probably would have had more yardage than against Atlanta, or at least in the same ballpark. Either way, he still scored a TD against Miami with only 8 carries. I think someone is upset over our RB's stinking the joint up this year.

[Guest Mr. Nobody]

Um, excuse me?? I wish our backs could put that kind of "backup type" game up against a stout run defense like Rainey did against Miami... I don't know if you saw the average YPC he had, but he had 5.6. Give him 30 carries, and he probably would have had more yardage than against Atlanta, or at least in the same ballpark. Either way, he still scored a TD against Miami with only 8 carries. I think someone is upset over our RB's stinking the joint up this year.

if you take out the one 31 yrds run, his performance is 7 att for 14 yrds... pretty Ravens like performance if I may lol

[BloodRaven]

If he was still on the team he would be riding the bench and rarely activated.  I don't see how it was a bad idea to let him go?

Ignoring the fact our ground game has been awful and we signed a scrapheap HB, Rainey has low mileage and is running as well as Rice ever has. What do you think is going to happen next season? Rice will be a worn out cap casualty while Rainey will be hitting his prime.

[Stephenjr]

 

I wouldn't really call the game he played vs Miami a great performance by any means, it was a good back-up role performance at the most

 

WK OPP    Rush Att  Yds  Avg  Lng TD Rec Yds  Avg   Lng  TD FUM

10  MIA            8      45     5.6   31    1    1    11    11.0  11      0    --   

11  ATL           30    163   5.4   43T  2    2     4      2.0   4T     1    --

 

I'm pretty sure the Falcons didn't really prepare for him as you would do for an opposing RB1

 

Rainey didn't come in to the Miami game until the middle of the 3rd quarter. Rainey is a Beast!

[AsianRice]

I'm glad that Rainy has an opportunity to start in NFL and excel; if he is still on the Ravens roster, I'm not sure he will start over Rice and Pierce.

 

The Bucs have nothing to lose so they might as well use him for tryout purposes, and it turns out good for him.

 

He'll get a good contract next year if he continues to be consistent contributor on the ground game....

[-Truth-]

 

I wouldn't really call the game he played vs Miami a great performance by any means, it was a good back-up role performance at the most

 

WK OPP    Rush Att  Yds  Avg  Lng TD Rec Yds  Avg   Lng  TD FUM

10  MIA            8      45     5.6   31    1    1    11    11.0  11      0    --   

11  ATL           30    163   5.4   43T  2    2     4      2.0   4T     1    --

 

I'm pretty sure the Falcons didn't really prepare for him as you would do for an opposing RB1

 

 

I agree in part regarding the Miami contest. However, Rainey didn't see nearly enough carries to turn the good performance into a great one. I also understand your point about the YPC without the 31 yard scamper. But even with roughly 23 yards of open field running on that lone play, he still amassed 34 yards after contact, meaning that he was likely met in the backfield on more than one occasion. Regarding the Falcons, it's impossible to state whether they prepared for Rainey as the RB1. Aside from Vincent Jackson, the other pieces they had to prepare for were Mike Glennon, Tim Wright, Tiquan Underwood and Brian Leonard. Granted that I was and am high on Glennon, but it's not exactly like preparing for Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers. Furthermore, on 8 different attempts, their defense was in position to make the tackle. If it wasn't for Rainey forcing defenders to miss, he would've finished with 45 yards on 30 carries. Of Rainey's combined 208 yard rushing yards since Week 10, on 38 carries, only 56 of those yards have come before contact. This means that on average, Rainey made it to the 1.5 yard line before having to create on his own, which he has thus far. With that in mind, eluding defenders isn't a capability that can be consistently schemed out by opposing defenses. Otherwise, we wouldn't see RBs like Arian Peterson and LeSean McCoy continue on with their eluding habits several years into their careers. I think it's more than fair to be speculative about where his season heads from hereon in despite the two performances. It's definitely not a guarantee that he continues producing. Although given his recent success, and the fact that it's not entirely new for a player who was a 1,600+ yard rusher in College in his junior and senior years, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. However, attempting to nearly dismiss his performance against the Falcons is unsubstantiated and somewhat ridiculous.

[Guest Mr. Nobody]

However, attempting to nearly dismiss his performance against the Falcons is unsubstantiated and somewhat ridiculous.

-Truth- my friend, you should know me better by now... I wasn't trying to dismiss a hard work performance from him, I was quite pleasantly impressed, but as my first post in this thread suggest, I'm not quite ready to label Rainey a feature RB just after one extraordinary performance; I am looking at his portfolio with the sceptical view that he couldn't make the Ravens' roster in his second year here and that he couldn't stick with the Browns, who were a bit desperate at the position after they've traded Richardson... the feeling here is that all this "new love" for a player that left our team, from some of the members around this boards that would criticise any actual Raven just because they feel like it, looks too much like Boldin's week one showing that threw the threads and other media up in the air

thus, i'm willing to wait a few more games... to see him starting and knowing that teams now know him, before making any (other/more) favourable judgements... until then, same ol' #horus13 as some would say lol

[-Truth-]

-Truth- my friend, you should know me better by now... I wasn't trying to dismiss a hard work performance from him, I was quite pleasantly impressed, but as my first post in this thread suggest, I'm not quite ready to label Rainey a feature RB just after one extraordinary performance; I am looking at his portfolio with the sceptical view that he couldn't make the Ravens' roster in his second year here and that he couldn't stick with the Browns, who were a bit desperate at the position after they've traded Richardson... the feeling here is that all this "new love" for a player that left our team, from some of the members around this boards that would criticise any actual Raven just because they feel like it, looks too much like Boldin's week one showing that threw the threads and other media up in the air

thus, i'm willing to wait a few more games... to see him starting and knowing that teams now know him, before making any (other/more) favourable judgements... until then, same ol' #horus13 as some would say lol

 

I do know you better, but your comments were a write off on the surface. Your only remarks regarding his performance against Atlanta prior to the one above was that he got lucky, they didn't prepare for him, and that he shone against a poor defensive unit. I certainly agree with your sentiment, but it's a bit of a moot point. I doubt you'd find any sane individual who seriously believes that Rainey is guaranteed to be a future feature back after two impressive performances. However, personally, I've never brought into the idea of judging a player based on what direction the team goes. It implies a sense of flawlessness by the FO. A prime example of that would be Victor Cruz, who despite flashing in preseason, was reportedly inches away from not making the Giants final roster in 2011, which came directly on the heels of an All-Pro campaign. Make no mistake, I am in no way attempting to compare the two players. But it's a terrific example of how shallow of a judging tactic this can be.

 

In addition, our situation in Baltimore was the determining factor behind his inability to crack the final roster. Anthony Allen was a superior ST player, and we were attempting to find ways to incorporate Bernard Pierce into the running game, nevermind having him and Ray Rice split carries with a third RB. And Cleveland just parted with an RB whom you yourself considered to be a future Top 5 back. I'd hesitate to call it new love in either of the two cases, but I can only speak for myself. During Rainey's stint in Baltimore, his buzz was built on the numerous impressive plays and attributes he showcased in preseason action. I was also fond of him as a prospect before he was undrafted. Naturally, I see this more of a player making good on his promise rather than a fluke occurrence, and am continuing to cheer for the player to continue his success. But as I've stated before, my expectations for him are definitely tampered, as they should be. If he nets 75 scrimmage yards and 1 TD in every other game, I'll consider it to be a successful season.

[display name]

I'm happy for him. Hope he does well.

[Gordo52]

I'm happy for him. Hope he does well.

Same.

[beanfigger]

Hopefully, he can have longer sustained success in Tampa than Cadillac Williams, Blount, etc. If he does get a longer opportunity to shine, that means we can probably add Martin to that list. I like Rainey, and I will be rooting for him, but RBs there have been little more than a flash in the pan lately.