Ground Attack

[Ed_Reed_Pick_Six]

Which team, in your opinion, will lead the NFL in rushing?

Early contenders appear to be Carolina, Tennessee, Baltimore and Minnesota. I believe Carolina will lead the NFL, as they have two very good running backs in Williams and Stewart. I can see that duo nearing 3,000 yards on the ground.

[berad]

I would say Minnesota, that OL is incredible and Adrian Peterson is an outstanding talent. A sleeper candidate, though, is the St. Louis Rams. Steve Spagnolo has been really committed to bulking up their OL and Steven Jackson is a beast. Watch out.

[H8R]

Vikings, Peterson and Taylor with a great line.

[BmoreRav]

I agree with Berad, Minnesota is my pick! I'm expecting a huge year from Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor should also get his fair share of yards as back up RB!

[ZIBBY28]

[quote name='H8R' post='202565' date='Jun 22 2009, 10:34 AM']Vikings, Peterson and Taylor with a great line.[/quote]
agree, especially if they can get some production out of percy harvin in a wildcat-based scheme

[Alexir]

Don't want to be Bias so I will explain my pick.

Baltimore Ravens will lead the rushing attack.

Adrian Peterson has to play 3 tough defenses next season (Baltimore, Pittsburgh, NY). He has to play against Ravens and Steelers back to back. I really see him getting injured in one of those games if not both.

Panthers have to go up against some good defenses as well including Washington, NY, Vikings.

As for the Ravens, we got a hard schedule (run defense wise) against the Vikings and Steelers only. Ofcourse this is going off of last year stats but I think if we run a two headed monster with McGahee and Rice we will do fine. I love what McClain did last year but he is not a RB and shouldnt be stealing touches from 2 players who got drafted in the NFL because they are true RBs. AFC West's run defense was atrocious last year, and the NFC North always gets ran on by AP.

But the key to who will have the best ground attack all comes down to the Run blocking O line and the qb.

[MKdave]

I Like the Jets'.
Jones is a really quality back, they have a great O-Line, the league's best scatback (outside of [b]maybe[/b] Darren Sproles) in Leon Washington and a good power running-rookie in Shonn Greene, along with an experienced and standout full back in Tony Richardson, plus a HC commited to the run. It all adds up to a quality rushing attack.

[EdReedFTW]

Seriously, no one's gonna mention the Giants? The team that lead the league in rushing last year? The team with what many analysis call the best Oline in Football? True they lost Derrick Ward but seriously they should be fine. With that oline and Brandon Jacobs pounding people all throughout the first three quarters anybody could get on the field with fresh legs and make defenses look foolish.

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='Ed_Reed_Pick_Six' post='202561' date='Jun 22 2009, 10:24 AM']I believe Carolina will lead the NFL, as they have two very good running backs in Williams and Stewart. I can see that duo nearing 3,000 yards on the ground.[/quote]I agree that Carolina will likely lead the NFL in rushing, mainly because Jake Delhomme will struggle and the team will lean even more on the ground attack this season than before.

[McBurks]

Well the Panthers might not be as dominate as last year,I still see Jon and DeAngelo blasting defenses with their rushing attack.

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='Simba' post='202751' date='Jun 22 2009, 08:49 PM']Well the Panthers might not be as dominate as last year,I still see Jon and DeAngelo blasting defenses with their rushing attack.[/quote]Aside from Delhomme regressing, my other reason for the Panthers' rushing attack dominating is because the rest of the NFC South will struggle defensively.

The transition into a new defense will hit the Bucs hard (even with former defensive assistant Raheem Morris as the new head coach), and the Saints and Falcons haven't done much to truly upgrade. I can't see Atlanta's defense improving overnight even with the drafting of Peria Jerry, and I question whether New Orleans can stop the run. All NFC South teams (including the Panthers) gave up more than 4.2 YPC and 117.8 yards per game. Though New Orleans fared the best against the run in the division, their scheme makes me wonder if they are more geared to stop the pass (especially with the drafting of a DB in the first round and a recent emphasis on DBs in free agency.)

Additionally, other than New Orleans, I don't see Tampa or Atlanta having an offense capable of playing from behind. If Carolina gets a lead, they'll continue to build on that lead with the run. Teams playing from behind will be more apt to pass; Carolina, meanwhile, was the 5th-best team at stopping the pass last year.

If the cards fall as I predict, the Panthers will be playing with the lead more often, and therefore, will run the ball more often.

[Wacko4Zacko]

I think it will be.....the Bills.

[Ed_Reed_Pick_Six]

Someone mentioned the Giants - I apologised for not including them, had a bit of a mental blank at the time. A lot of people feeling the Vikings, its pretty hard to argue with Peterson. I also saw someone mention the Rams - my concern there would be I don't know if the Rams can make stops, so they might have to give the run to keep up. But good luck to them lol

[Ed_Reed_Pick_Six]

Someone mentioned the Giants - I apologised for not including them, had a bit of a mental blank at the time. A lot of people feeling the Vikings, its pretty hard to argue with Peterson. I also saw someone mention the Rams - my concern there would be I don't know if the Rams can make stops, so they might have to give the run to keep up. But good luck to them lol

[BloodRaven]

Carolina did nothing but improve in the run game and had no key losses. Giants won't do it again and Titans won't have the same defence without Haynesworth, that will affect their offence.

[darklight1216]

My picks are the Giants, Vikes, and Ravens. I'm hoping that the NFC East will utterly destroy Atlanta's running game next year. Unfortunately, this will give even more fuel to the Joe-Flacco-has-good-runners fire, but I'm okay with that.

[codizzle]

dave hit it on the head the jets .. but i see a possible problem with them and the panthers... logic will tell u if ur behind in games u wont be running the ball a whole lot. i dont see the panthers or jets being too great mainly the panthers

i'd say top three for next year not necessarily in this order

vikings
ravens
jets- a stretch but it seems very much so that the jets are simply becoming a baltimore extension

sleeper picks
cowboys- if the defense can play consistently the way it played there for a few weeks and dallas coaches get smart somehow .... the barbarian and my boy felix will each have a good year

raiders- only if the team can turn it around a little and if dmac can stay healthy

[Alexir]

Raiders in my opinion are definitely the sleeper team,codizzle. You got Michael Bush, Justin Fargas and Run DMC all behind pro bowl FB Lorenzo Neal. The same Lorenzo Neal that blocked for a FB last year whom he sent to the Pro Bowl, and the same Lorenzo Neal that blocked for Ladanian Tomlinson in 2006 when he put up all those numbers.

[die_hard_raven]

I say the Vikes and maybe the Giants of Jacobs can stay healthy. He's a big guy and the knees are the easiest point of attack when dealing with a big physical runner.