Pick your Running Back for the rest of the 2007 season

[BrownBullsFan]

Since each running back has shown a good amount of promise, which running back would you play the rest of 2007 if you had to choose one.

Here are my thoughts and your Choices:

1)  Ben Williams

Upside:  Carried the team to a win @ FAU on 25 for 186 yards and 4 TD's....had a 56 yard TD run that included a spin and multiple break tackles....best blocking back by far on our team.....smart back, understands the playbook.....protects the football the best of the three backs....fights through adversity everytime people doubts his I-A ability

Downside:  Very undersized at 5"7....terrible balance when making cuts....often overthinks his cutback opportunities.....doesn't play as low to the ground as smaller backs normally do....below average hands

2) Mike Ford

Upside:  Incredible talent....best cutting ability of anyone on the team not named Grothe.....big bruising back that has the ability to make people miss....can run inside and outside.....lights out on short yardage and goaline....with the ball in his hands, every play could be a possible TD....can't be tackled one-on-one

Downside:  Trouble protecting the football.....also, trouble with the playbook and therefore an average blocker at best....still young and inexperienced playing at BCS level...sometimes looks to cut runs outside too often...could use a little more patience to let his blocks develop

3) Jamar Taylor

Upside:  above average cutting ability....has great speed and plays bigger than his size......excellent body control....quiet contributor who takes advantage of his carries....pretty good hands out of the backfield....a nice mix of Ford and Williams.....

Downside:  Terrible blocker.....undersized and clearly not as strong as the other two backs...the middle of the pack when protecting the football....only average knowledge of the playbook....overrated as far as short yardage and goaline are concerned

[GoBulls84]

At this point in the season, I would take Ben Williams if I HAD to choose one. It seems as if his running has improved a bit from last year and he's probably the best backfield blocker of the 3.

[-los]

Ben Williams

[Mama_Bull]

I happen to agree that Ben is the steadiest of the RBs at the moment.  I am not exactly sure how much I like RB by committee.  We don't see the kids during practice daily as the coaches do, so we have to trust them.  

Also, remember we have Aston Samuels, Shawn Cannon as well as Moise Plancher who know the playbook well.  Ford and Taylor are both newbies to the program, and we have to that into account.  It would also be nice to have Colby Erskin back.

[WWMJD]

Each RB has 2 fumbles on the year...  haven't had enough runs for us to really make a statistically significant judgment on ball protection in a game situation...

That said I'll go with Williams until Ford shows that he can play a whole game without getting exhausted and improves his football IQ.

[PingBull]

anyone else notice how Ford carries the ball exactly like Amarri?  Ya know, swinging it out there for all to grab!

[VeryBullish]

Ben Williams' fumbles have come from fighting for extra extra yards everytime. You can't fault him for playing hard, but if he's going to fight for the extra yards he needs to protect the ball as he moves.

Mike Ford is a playmaker. He just needs to learn the playbook like you said and work on his 2nd half conditioning.

Jamar Taylor is a very nice between the tackle runner.

I'm down for the rbbc. If we use the backs appropriately we could be more productive. I love the wildcat formation. It gets all three of the guys on the field at one time...beautiful. Come to think of it, we didn't run that formation once against FAU. Hmm maybe we were holding back at tad bit.

[PingBull]

Ford needs to learn how to carry the **** ball!!!  Other than that, he's $$$.

[TRUTH D. Antagonist]

i disagree with the OP's assesment of Ford and Taylor's blocking.

Ford "average" but Taylor "terrible" ??

come on.  Taylor isnt spectacular by any means, but he's DEFINETELY a better blocker than Ford.  Ford has alot of potential, but his skillset at this point is running between the tackles and cutting outside.  he cant catch, he doesnt block well, all he can do is run, but he carries the ball like his cousin.  which is NOT good.

anyways... i think they all have upsides that the other doesnt, and downsides that create the need for a committee approach.  i wouldn't pick just one at this point.  if i had to, id stick with Williams.

[TRUTH D. Antagonist]

anyone else notice how Ford carries the ball exactly like Amarri?  Ya know, swinging it out there for all to grab!

yup.

with Mike it's understandable, as he's just entering the system.

but it is inexplicable why Amarri still does that.  he's been doing it for 3 1/2 years now, i don't understand why the coaches haven't put a stop to that.